Poke Fantasy 7
by Blue Dragon of Games
Summary: It's back here now! Ash and co. get transported to the world of Final Fantasy 7. Will they survive it? Eh, maybe. This is the scrunched up version.


Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon or FF7, those belong to game freak and squaresoft, although, I really wouldn't mind owning the Final Fantasy series, they are my ultimate favorite Role Playing Game series. (Although Breath of Fire isn't bad...) Sigh, some things are just not meant to happen...  
  
Note: This is one of very few pokemon FF7 crossovers. I got some of my ideas from 'New Friends' and 'Transformations' although; I'm not going to change ash into a girl, that's just a little too wrong for me. Well, anyway, I hope you enjoy this fan fiction. I may not continue it if I get no reviews, so please, REVIEW! Good or bad, makes NO difference to me.  
  
Ash=17 Misty=18 Brock=20  
  
Note 2: Hey look; this story is back in the Pokemon section. Amazing, huh? This is the edited version. I'm trying to make it more detailed and all that wet not, and this one has footnotes instead of all those interruptions in the story. I hope it make it easier to read. Other than that, just read!  
  
Chapter 1: Joining AVALANCHE  
  
Ash Ketchum, Misty Waterflower, and Brock Slate ran as fast as they could to try to get off Cinnabar Island. The volcano was yet again erupting, and this time they could not stop it. Each one of them was cursing out every foul word they knew for only bringing one pokemon with them. Ash with pikachu, Misty with Togepi, and Brock with Vulpix.  
  
All of a sudden the ground cracked around them, cutting them off from their chance to escape. "Misty" Ash said, edging away from the river of lava only a few feet away from him, "Since we're all gonna die anyway, I just wanted to say...even if you hate me for it, that I love you..."('since we're gonna die anyway' what a lost cause) "I love you too Ash, I wish we could've spent more time together..." (You don't really think I'm gonna kill them off do you?!) "Pika, pi..." yeah, it sucks... "Toge..." crud...  
  
Suddenly the wind began to pick up, and a green hole appeared out of nowhere, acting like a huge vacuum, (1) and sucked in the 3 teenagers and 2 pokemon. (Vulpix is in her pokeball) Each one of them felt a strange energy pass through them, and finally the vortex dropped them in front of a blonde, spiky-haired guy with a HUGE sword strapped to his back and a black man (2) with a machine gun for an arm.  
  
"Who the hell are these kids!" The black man shouted to the spiky haired guy.  
  
The blonde guy shrugged and walked over to Ash and his friends.  
  
"Who are you? Why are you traveling with monsters? And why do your eyes tell me you've been Mako infused (3)?"  
  
Ash, Misty, and Brock groggily got one their feet, and pikachu leapt into Ash's arms while togepi did the same to Misty. "Err...My name is Ash, this is Misty and Brock. The creature in my hands is pikachu, and in Misty's is togepi. This creatures are not monsters, their pokemon and our friends, and for Mako infusion, hell, I don't even know what that is" Ash said to the blonde. "Now who are you? What's Mako, and what the hell is going on?"  
  
"I'm Cloud, and this is Barret." Cloud said.  
  
"Mako is the blood of the planet, and an organization called Shinra are using machines called reactors to suck out that energy, and drawing to much out will cause the planet to. . ."  
  
"Die. . ." Misty finished for Barret. "Oh that's horrible! Why would they do such a thing?"  
  
"Correct. So me and the other members of AVALANCHE try to put a stop to the madness. We've already destroyed reactor 1 and are planning of reactor 5 in a couple of days."  
  
"And I'll get my gil"  
  
"I need that for Marlene's school'n!"  
  
"No concern of mine"  
  
"You spiky headed self centered dumb ass!"  
  
All Ash, Misty, Brock, pikachu, and togepi could do was watch as the exchange continued for almost a half an hour. Pikachu, who had been watching the exchange with agitation, finally snapped and sent a thundershock at the two. They immediately shut up.  
  
"Now that THAT is over, will one of you care to explain what the hell a Mako infusion is?!" Said Ash, also very agitated.  
  
"A Mako infusion is exactly that, a Mako infusion. It is used mainly on members in the SOLDIER in the Shinra Company to boost their power. How were you three infused if you are not a member of soldier?"  
  
"No clue. One moment, we're about to die from a damn volcano, the next we're in some damn vortex that dumped us off here" Ash answered, scratching the back of his neck.  
  
"Well, now that your stuck here, would you kids like to join AVALANCHE? You'll need to get some weapons and armor, maybe a few materia, what do you think?" Barret asked.  
  
The three teens and pokemon looked at each other and huddled in a circle.  
  
"What do you guys think?" Ash said.  
  
"Well, we are stuck here, and we don't know if we'll ever get back. And because of that, we should try to make friends and allies with people. They could probably teach us about this world, and this AVALANCHE seems to be a good cause, I know I don't want the planet to die while I'm here" Said Brock  
  
"I agree with Brock. This Mako energy or whatever should make us strong, and I think it's cute how ash has glowing green eyes now, although, I can't say much about you Brock, you never open yours!"  
  
Ash, Pikachu, and Togepi laughed, while Brock just stared dumbly at Misty.  
  
"Pi! Pikachu, chu pika!" piped pikachu.  
  
"Toge toge pi!" squeaked togepi.  
  
"So you guys think that we should join too? Save the planet and all that shit?" Ash said.  
  
They all nodded yes and Ash smiled. Even in another world they were still going on adventures and saving the world. He really wished that all his other pokemon were here with him, but they were all at professor Oak's laboratory in Pallet Town. He really hoped that they were ok and that his mom and the professor were taking good care of them.  
  
His mom.  
  
Ash frowned. He really missed her. She probably thought that his friends and him were dead. I hope she isn't too sad. I'll make sure that I make her proud here. I'll help these people here save the planet. These Shinra people seem like sure ass wipes. Destroying the planet for a few extra bucks. I'll make sure that they don't succeed.  
  
"Alright. We'll join them. It'll be just like old times."  
  
They all cheered and agreed to Barret.  
  
"Great! Let's go to the weapon shop. It's not far from here."  
  
They all walked to a small shop and went inside. After a while of looking (ohhh...half an hour or something .) they finally choose their weapons and Materia. Ash had a katana that resembled Seprioth's, only a bit shorter and a bolt and all materia, Misty had a iron mallet (4) with ice and cure materia, and Brock had a set of clawed knuckles and a fire and cover materia and they all had a iron bangle on. Ash also decided to get a new set of clothes, because the ones he was wearing would hold him back in a fight, so now he wore his normal black T-shirt with a more movable vest on, loose pants with a belt that held his sword, and durable leather shoes. He still would not give up wearing his hat though, and his backpack was remodeled to hold infinite items, along with all his gear. Misty and Brock also had one of these. (5)  
  
"Alright, now that we are all set, let's head back to the 7th Heaven. Damn I need a drink." Barret said, heading towards the sector 7 slums, heading straight to the bar.  
  
Ash snickered and followed Barret. Pikachu was on his shoulder and Misty, Togepi, and Brock followed behind. It didn't actually take long to reach the slums, and Barret lead them all to the bar and they all went inside.  
  
The first thing that happened was a little girl in a pink dress launched herself a Barret, and he swung her around in circles. Then this other girl came. She wore a white shirt and a black mini skirt and had long, brown hair and dark pink eyes. While she dragged Cloud off somewhere, this other girl (Damn there are a lot of girls!) and two guys approached Ash and Co.  
  
"Hello! Are you new members?" Said the girl who was called Jessie.  
  
"Yes. Could you explain what we are supposed to do?" Answered Misty.  
  
"Of course. In two days, we are going to go on a mission to destroy reactor No. 5. We'll inform you with more information when the time comes. Until then, why don't you practice with your weapons and materia?"  
  
The group nodded and headed outside and began to practice. Each of them found out that they had a natural ability with their weapons and materia, and Ash got quit a surprise when Cloud said that he was very gifted with the katana and asked if he wanted to spar. He agreed, and for the last two hours they were exchanging blows, neither one of them gaining the upper hand. They eventually had to stop when it began to get dark, so they all went inside the 7th Heaven for a good night's rest.  
  
In the middle of the night, Ash woke up. He yawned and stretched, then rubbed his eyes. Not able to get back to sleep, he pushed himself off his makeshift bed and went over to the pinball machine elevator then went up to the first floor bar. Yawning again, he sat down in one of the seats, to be surprised to hear someone call out his name.  
  
"Ash? Can't sleep?"  
  
It was Tifa. The brown haired bar tender of the 7th Heaven. He smiled. Everyone in AVALANCHE now knew what had happened to him and his friends, and she felt very sorry for them.  
  
"Yeah, but I'll get to sleep soon." Ash answered.  
  
"Would you like something to drink?"  
  
". . .Maybe a Dr. Pepper if you have any." (6)  
  
"Alright"  
  
Tifa went to the back of her bar, and came back with a can of Dr. Pepper moments later. Ash thanked her, and downed the drink in record- breaking time. After he was done, he through the can away, almost missing the trash can, said good night to Tifa, and went back downstairs to his cot that was right next to Misty, who was resting on the couch.  
  
"Pi pikachu?"  
  
"Yeah, I couldn't sleep, but I think I can now. Goodnight"  
  
"Pi pi"  
  
"Goodnight Misty my love"  
  
Misty subconsciously smiled at the words, which made Ash also smile. He rolled on his side and silently made a promise. I will always protect you, I promise. And with that he went to sleep. (7)  
  
Chapter 2: Talking to the Planet  
  
The next day passed by quickly. Ash, Misty, and Brock continued to practice with their new weapons, even though everyone said that they were absolutely natural with their weapons and were probably masters at it already. Their Materia was also going great, and each seemed at peace with the element they had chosen.  
  
Now it was time to finally start the mission. Jessie gave them all fake i.d.'s to be able to get onto the train, so they boarded without problem. Cloud and Tifa were talking to one another, Jessie was looking at the map of the train routes of Midgar (1), Barret was scaring the hell out of a Shinra worker in a red suit, who kept complaining how he hated the last train of the day, and Ash, Misty, Pikachu, Togepi, and Brock were relaxing in the chairs and taking in the scenery, or what could be called scenery, through the windows.  
  
"Alright people, we have three minutes before we have to jump the train. I'll warn you before that happens" Called Jessie after she got done looking at the map.  
  
Everyone nodded and went back to what they were doing. All of a sudden a red light blasted through the cars of the train, startling everyone inside.  
  
"They moved the checkpoints up! We have to go now!" Yelled Jessie, running to another car.  
  
Ash and the others quickly got up and followed Jessie through more of the cars, bumping into numerous people on the way. When they reached the last car, one by one they jumped out and landed on the railway.  
  
"Wow that was close" Ash mumbled and followed Cloud through the railway.  
  
Soon they ended up facing a wall with six blue energy bars running through it. Cloud looked around for a moment and finally found a vent in the wall.  
  
"Come on" He said pointing to the vent.  
  
"You gotta be shit'n me! There an't no way 'n hell I'm going down that!" Barret bellowed, shacking his fists in the air.  
  
"Well then stay here" Cloud said and jumped down the vent, followed by Ash, Misty, Brock, and Tifa.  
  
"Ghaaaaaa!" Barret bellowed again and jumped down the vent after them, almost getting stuck in the process.  
  
When they exited the vent, they were inside a huge metal building. Cloud motioned for them to follow, so they did. Less than five minutes later, a red, dog-like monster with a tentacle on it head charged at them along with three fish-like monsters. Ash drew his katana and rammed it through the dog, then yanked it upwards, instantly killing the beast. Misty had taken out her hammer, and was slamming one of the fish, while pikachu and Brock took another, and Cloud and Tifa attacked the last.  
  
When all the monsters were defeated, they continued to the core, meeting another monster on the way, which was easily dispatched by pikachu's thunderbolt. At the core, Tifa set up the bomb, and they continued to trail out.  
  
A couple more battles later, they were all walking across a catwalk when Cloud told them to stop. They looked around for a moment and that's when Ash noticed a man a little distance off.  
  
"President Shinra..." Cloud mumbled, but it went heard by everyone.  
  
"That's President Shinra?! The bastard who has caused me all this trouble?! I'm gonna kick is ass!" Shouted Barret.  
  
"President, do you remember me?" Cloud said almost coldly to the rather rounded president of the Shinra Company.  
  
The president glanced over at Cloud and said,  
  
"Your that traitor aren't you? Sorry, I have to many employees to remember their names, although, Sephiroth is one that is impossible to forget." The president replied, though mostly to himself.  
  
"Shut up you dumbass and get over here so I can kick your sorry ass!" Barret shouted.  
  
"Sorry, I have a dinner to go to, but I'll have you meet Airbuster, the Techno-Soldier!"  
  
"Techno Soldier?" Cloud said, but didn't have much time to think about it. A giant mechanical monstrosity blasted past them, putting himself between Ash and Cloud and on the other side Barret, Tifa, Brock and Misty.  
  
Ash started the attack with his limit break (2) he had been holding back. "Thunder Slash!" He shouted.  
  
His Katana became a blade of electricity and he jumped into the air, diagonally slashing across Airbuster. It did a huge amount of damage, but didn't quite enough to destroy it. Then Airbuster fired off rockets, smashing into the ground by Misty, causing her to fall onto her ass.  
  
A vein popped out of her head and a red glow surrounded her.  
  
"Water Smash!" She shouted and she swung her hammer like a bat, making a wave of water burst from her mallet. The water caused Airbuster to short circuit and it exploded, making the catwalk from under Cloud and Ash to give way. They clung to a few pipes that were popping out, but they knew they couldn't hold on, and below them the ground was hundreds of thousands of feet down. Not a very friendly drop.  
  
"Ash!" Misty shouted, tears in her eyes "Don't die on me! I love you!"  
  
"And I love you too Cloud! You just came back! You can't die!" Tifa also shouted.  
  
"We won't! but hurry and get away!" Ash shouted, his grip on the pipes slipping.  
  
Then there was an explosion and they lost their grips totally on the pipes and fell into the abyss below, Misty and Tifa screaming as Brock and Barret picked them up and rushed them out of the building, explosions following in their wake.  
  
'Help'  
  
"What?"  
  
'It hurts'  
  
"What does?"  
  
'My life is draining, I'm not sure how much longer I can hold on'  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
'It hurts'  
  
Ash groggily opened his eyes. 'What was that voice? It hurts? What is that supposed to mean?' Ash was dragged out of his thoughts when he heard another voice.  
  
"Hello! So you're finally up! You scared me when you two came crashing though the roof and into my bed of flowers. Are you ok? You were mumbling about something."  
  
Ash looked up to see a girl in her early twenties. She had green eyes and brown hair in a braid, and was wearing a pink dress with a pink vest over it.  
  
"Oh, sorry, I was just hearing this voice, It was weird, it kept on saying that it hurt, whatever that means" Ash replied, rubbing his head and standing up, then walking over to were Cloud and the girl in pink was. (Cloud is conscious at this time in case you were wondering)  
  
The girl's eyes widened considerably and she stared at Ash like he had another head.  
  
"You, you hear the voices of the planet?" She chocked out. (Sounds like insanity to me . . .)  
  
"Voices of the planet?" Ash asked, looking at her questionably, his head tilting slightly to the side.  
  
"Yes, it is an ability of the people of the Cetra (3), to hear the voices for the planet and life stream (4), I thought I was the only one left."  
  
"Who are you?" Ash asked.  
  
"Oh! I'm sorry, my name is Aeris. Are you with Cloud here? He fell through my roof too."  
  
Ash snickered. Little did he know that a red-haired man in a blue suit and an electrically charged nightstick had heard the entire conversation, and he felt his eyes widen as well. 'So, the boy is also a Cetra, interesting, I'll definitely get promoted if I bring them both in, through I almost feel sorry for them thinking of what that bastard Hojo will do. Oh well, not my problem'  
  
The man came out of the shadows and Aeris immediately saw them.  
  
"Cloud, you do anything right? Have you ever been a bodyguard?" Aeris asked, panicked.  
  
Cloud gave her a confused look but then noticed the man. Ash noticed him to and took out his katana and stepped in front of Aeris.  
  
"Damn, Turks(5); should have known. Aeris, Ash, follow me." Cloud said running to the back of the flower church.  
  
They followed him and ended up jumping across a gap in the pathway, but Aeris was hesitant. Suddenly bullets went flying, causing Ash and Aeris to loose their footing and they fell down the broken flight of stairs. Ash regained his footing fast, and dispatched the soldiers that tried to capture them, the entire time the Turk known as Reno watched in horror as this katana wielding teenager killed with ease all his highly trained SOLDIERS.  
  
'This kid is as dangerous as Seprioth! He even wields the same weapon!' He thought as he retreated the scene. 'I must inform Shinra about this. With two Ancients we'll definitely find the Promised Land'  
  
Meanwhile, Ash, Cloud, and Aeris were finally on the roof. They began hopping their way over things when Aeris called them to slow down. Ash and Cloud stopped for a moment, allowing Aeris time to catch up.  
  
"Are you two in SOLDIER?" She asked when she caught up with them. "Your eyes glow, like those in SOLDIER."  
  
"I was, but I'm not anymore" Cloud said.  
  
"I don't know what happened to me, same thing with happened to my friends, it just, appeared. Kinda queer huh?" Ash said  
  
Aeris smiled at Ash's words. He could be so serious sometimes, and then so carefree the next. It amused her greatly.  
  
"Were do we go now?" Ash asked.  
  
"To sector 7, but first we need to take Aeris home. Were is it anyway?" Cloud said  
  
"In the Sector 5 slums. Follow me, I'll show you." Aeris answered  
  
The group walked for a while, when suddenly a thief came out of the shadows and mugged Aeris.  
  
"He stole my Materia!" Aeris shouted.  
  
Ash pulled out his katana at the speed of light and impaled the thief. He fell to the ground and the Materia rolled to Aeris. She picked it up and placed it back into her pocket.  
  
"What does that Materia do?" Cloud asked.  
  
"Nothing" She replied with a smile.  
  
"Nothing?" Ash questioned.  
  
"Nope, but I got it from my mother, that's why I love it so much" Aeris answered.  
  
The two boys nodded and they continued on their way to the slums.  
  
They passed through a slightly populated section of the slums and picked up some better armor and stocked up on more potions, ethers, and phoenix downs. After that, they continued through the slums until they found a beautiful house surrounded by flowers, completely different from the dreary place they just were at. They walked into the house, and immediately Aeris shouted "I'm Home!"  
  
A woman with a green dress on and had brown hair in a bun came down the stairs.  
  
"Aeris your home! Who are these people?"  
  
"Oh! This is Ash, and this is Cloud. Guys, this is my mom, Elmyra" Aeris said.  
  
"Why are they with you?" Elmyra asked with a hint of suspicion.  
  
"They saved me from the Turks! And guess what! Ash is a Cetra too! I'm not the only one! I'm going to take them to Sector 7, but I wanted to stop by before I leave"  
  
"Oh, all right. Once you get an idea in your head you won't quite, but please, stay for the night, it is already late. Why don't you prepare rooms for our guests?"  
  
"Alright!" Aeris answered and ran upstairs.  
  
Once Aeris was totally upstairs, Elmyra looked at Ash and Cloud. She had a sad look in her eyes.  
  
"Please, leave without Aeris tonight. She has been chased all her life. I don't want anything bad to happen to her. You should be very careful to Ash. If you really are an Ancient, the Shinra will be after you. I'm sorry to tell you this. But I must insist you leave."  
  
The two boys nodded, and at that very moment Aeris came downstairs to tell them their beds were ready. Being very tired, they went right to bed.  
  
Sometime that night, Cloud snuck into Ash's room and started poking him to wake up.  
  
"5 more minutes" Ash mumbled in his sleep.  
  
Cloud sighed and smacked Ash in the head, just like Misty had told him was an effective way to shut him up and wake him up.  
  
"Ok! ok! I'm up! Damn!"  
  
Ash stumbled out of bed and grabbed all his stuff, and with that, they very quietly snuck out of the house, almost having to go back because they heard movement from Aeris's room. Quickly they went through the Sector 5 slums, and were about to continue through sector 6 but someone way blocking the entrance.  
  
"Good morning" the person said.  
  
"Oh hell" Cloud mumbled.  
  
Chapter 3: Ms. Ketchum Interlude  
  
Ms. Ketchum sat in a chair at professor Oak's laboratory. Ever since Ash and his friends had been proclaimed dead, she had taken to staying there. Home had to many memories, both happy and sad, and it was just too much for her to take.  
  
'Why? Why did he have to die? He was all I had left. Not even his friends can come and comfort me. They're gone too. This just isn't fair'  
  
At that moment, Sam and Gary Oak walked into the room. Sam handed her a glass of coffee, which she took quickly and downed it. The room was silent, uncomfortably so, so Sam spoke up.  
  
"I'm sorry for what has happened Delia, I know how much Ash meant to you."  
  
"I know, but I can't believe he's gone. It makes no sense. Ash has survived though just about everything, why couldn't he survive this?" she asked.  
  
The room was silent again and Gary sighed.  
  
"Have you tried his portable vidphone? That may work"  
  
Sam and Delia stared at Gary for a moment, then Delia smiled and smacked her head.  
  
"Why didn't I think of that! Stupid me!"  
  
"Don't get you hopes up Delia" Sam warned.  
  
"I know" She answered and went over to the laboratory vidphone and dialed Ash's number.  
  
Amazingly, a picture appeared on the screen, And Delia squealed as she saw her son talking to two other people.  
  
#So your coming with us Aeris?# Ash said to the girl in a pink dress.  
  
#Yes, I want to help you find your friends. I don't care if it's dangerous. Will you let me come Cloud?# Aeris said to Cloud.  
  
#I Guess# The spiky-haired blonde replied.  
  
#Well, what are we waiting for! I want to see Misty and Brock! I bet their really worried# Ash yelled, but suddenly there was a growl. Ash turned his head to that direction and a green bug-like monster lept out of the shadows. Ash unsheathed his katana and drove it through its head and ripped it up, killing the monster.  
  
#That was annoying# Ash said, cleaning off his sword.  
  
#Come on Ash, I want to get going, Tifa is probably having a heart attack# Cloud said.  
  
#Alright, let me get my stuff# Ash replied.  
  
Ash walked over to his things, but before he picked it up, he noticed his mom in the portable vidphone. She was absolutely pale and looked like she had seen a ghost.  
  
#Mom?# Ash said, looking at his mom, his eyes glowing even more eerily.  
  
"A-Ash? Is that really you? What happened to you? Were are you?" Delia stuttered.  
  
#Oh hell mom, I don't know what happened to me. All I know is that me and everyone else are in another dimention in a place called Midgar, but don't worry! I can take care of myself! And I got friends to help me! Right now we're trying to stop these people called the Shinra and find Misty and the others.#  
  
"I can see that you can take care of yourself. But, did you say Midgar?"  
  
#Yes, why?#  
  
"Then you must be in the dimention that I was born in. I was a thing called a Cetra, and I was on the run from a group called the Shinra and was always traveling. One day I way in a huge explosion and was knocked out. When I came to, I was in Pallet Town, were I stayed. Sorry I never told you this."  
  
#That's ok. At least now we'll be able to talk to one another, but, I have to go now, I'll call you back later when I find everybody. Say hi to Professor Oak and Gary for me, and take care of my pokemon please. Later!# And with that Ash hung up.  
  
Both Professor Oak and Gary had seen everything that had happened and were now pale and in shock. Ms. Ketchum giggled at their faces and sat back down on a chair. It was then that the two got out of their shock and started hurling questions at her. She just smiled and answered as many as she could, although she wasn't paying much attention.  
  
'Be safe Ash. I know you will help save the planet, for you are a Cetra, one of the very few who can make a difference, and doing that is your specialty' She giggled again 'You are very powerful too. I know you can't die easily, I hope your new friends help you on your journey. Hmmm. I know they will actually. The other girl was also a Cetra, I could see it, and that man has a dark past with the Shinra. My Ash sure knows how to make friends!'  
  
When the questions were finally finished, Sam just sighed and rubbed his temples. Gary just stared. He couldn't believe all the things he had been told. It was unreal! And Ash was right in the middle of it!  
  
'You better be careful loser'  
  
Chapter 4: Girly Wall Market  
  
After Aeries joined Ash and Cloud, they entered Sector 6. It looked like a destroyed highway with tons of junk all over the place. Cranes, hand- like things, broken catwalks, whatever! After inching through the garbage for a little while, a house-like structure was in their way. Not thinking much of it, they continued on, but the 'house' suddenly fired missiles at them.  
  
Ash and Cloud both used their bolt Materia, causing the house to start to go berserk. It lashed out this huge explosion on the group, knocking everyone down and doing quite a bit of damage. Aeries then began to glow red, signaling her limit break. The wind picked up, and a blue orb formed in her hands, spreading the wind around Ash, Cloud and herself making them fully healed.  
  
They nodded their thanks, then Ash unsheathed his katana, and leapt into the air and brought it straight down on the house, cutting it in half. Ash placed his sword back in it's sheath, and walked back over to Aeries and Cloud.  
  
"It's amazing you found such a good sword in a dump like the Midgar slums. You gonna name it? Mine is called the buster sword." Cloud said as they continued their walk through the sector.  
  
"I don't know. Does it really need an name?" Ash replied, taking gout his katana and staring at it.  
  
"Every good weapon needs a name Ash. Didn't anyone ever tell you that?" Aeries piped up from behind Ash.  
  
"Hmmm. Alright I guess. I'll call it the Rangarook. How's that?" Ash asked as they neared a park.  
  
"That's a good name. And oh. Hey! I can't believe this park is still here! Can we stop for a bit? I haven't been here since I was a little girl!" Aeries said running over to a mog's head-shaped slide. (Mogs are like a twist between a bear and a cat. They have purple bat wings 'small' and a cat nip spring shaped thing on their head. Their fur is also white)  
  
While Aeries sat on the slide, Ash amused himself by hanging upside- down on the monkey bars. Cloud just stood there for a while, until Aeries asked him to sit with her. He complied and sat on the slide also.  
  
"Soooo. You were in soldier? What rank were you?" Aeries asked.  
  
"I was." Cloud seemed to fuzz out for a while, then came back to reality "I was first class"  
  
"Same as him." Aeries sighed  
  
"Who?" Cloud questioned.  
  
"My first boyfriend. But he disappeared years ago" Aeries answered.  
  
All of a sudden the doors to sector 7 opened, and a chocobo (Looks kinda like a really big yellow peacock and a feathery baby chick) carriage passed by. Everyone thought nothing of it until the back of the carriage could be seen, and standing back there were non other then Misty and Tifa, dressed very close to what a slut would wear. Before they could act, the carriage had already disappeared.  
  
"Misty! Holy Shit! I gotta get her!" Ash yelled.  
  
"Tifa too! What do they think they are doing!" Cloud shouted.  
  
"Are those two your girlfriends?" Aeries asked.  
  
"Yes!" They both shouted at the same time.  
  
"Oh." Aeries said, sounding a little disappointed, but cheered up quickly afterwards. "Well, lets go save them than. They're heading towards the wall market. The place is just loaded with hookers and the such, so their going to need all the help they can get!"  
  
The two boys nodded, and bolted into the wall market. Lights were everywhere, and the place was fairly crowded. They quickly pushed their way through, and made their way to the headman's mansion. They were greeted by a gruff looking guy who was guarding the door.  
  
"Sorry, the Don is not interested in men. But looks like you have a cutey with you, she can come in" He said, eyeing Aeries disturbingly.  
  
Ash and Cloud pulled Aeries back before she did anything stupid.  
  
"Guys! If I go in I may be able to find Misty and Tifa! You heard what he said. No men." Aeries said.  
  
"Well we can't let you go in there, do you realize what kind of place that is? That's an accident waiting to happen!" Ash countered. Just the thought was sending shivers down his spine.  
  
Aeries was silent for a little while, then a creepy smile crept onto her face and she had a mischievous glint in her eye. Both Ash and Cloud subconsciously stepped back at the sight.  
  
"Why don't you two dress up as girls?" she said and before they could answer she went up to the gruff guy and said "I'll be back in a little while, I want to bring some of my friends along" And with that she dragged Ash and Cloud back out into the Wall Street.  
  
"How could you do this to us?!" Ash shouted in panic. The very last thing he ever wanted to do was dress up like a girl. He had already done that once before to get into Erika's Gym. It would be a major blow to his pride.  
  
"Well how else are you planning to get in?"  
  
The two boys were completely silent.  
  
"I thought so, now let's get the stuff!"  
  
So all three of them ended up traveling around the Wall Market, picking up items to use to cough get into Don's Mansion. First they got a dress at the clothes shop, although they had to stop at the bar to get the man who made the dresses, then the wigs, which the got from a bunch of wrestlers at the gym. Then they got perfume from a girl who was, well, constipated at the bar, and a tiara from a guy who was having issues about a vending machine at the hotel. Last, but not least, they went to the honeybee inn with a card a hobo had given them and they got make-up.  
  
When they had all these items, they very reluctantly put them on. And it didn't help when Aeries burst out laughing. Holding back the urge to pop a girl, they walked back to Don's mansion, were they were once again greeted by the gruff guy.  
  
"Wow! Your friends are hot to! Come inside!"  
  
Ash thanked God that they had managed to hide their weapons. He had a huge feeling that they would need them. Sighing, he went inside. The Secretary was the one who greeted them there, and told them to wait and he would be right back.  
  
"Ok guys, now that he's gone, let's look for Misty and Tifa!" Aeries said.  
  
They nodded and began to search the doors. Only one was unlocked, so they went in that one. It led to a stone basement. They went down the stairs, and there they saw two people searching around. Aeries went up to the two people.  
  
"Hi! You must be Misty and Tifa! I'm Aeries! I'm here to help Ash and Cloud save you!"  
  
"Ash? Ash is here?" said Misty.  
  
"And Cloud?" said Tifa.  
  
"Yep! Their right over there." Answered Aeries, pointing to Ash and Cloud who were still dressed like girls.  
  
They looked at the two boys, stared for a little while, and burst out laughing. Both Ash and Cloud could feel their faces heating up. When they finally stopped laughing, the two girls decided to tell them why they were here.  
  
"Well, Don works for Shinra, so we are going to try and squeeze as much information out of him as humanly possible." Said Tifa.  
  
"Alright, I guess that makes sense, but this is a little desperate." Ash mumbled.  
  
"Maybe. What happened to you? That was quite a fall." Misty said.  
  
So Ash, Cloud, and Tifa told them what had happened, their eyes growing wider as they continued. Especially when they told them about the whole Cetra thing. They had to stop short though because the secretary found them and told them it was time to go.  
  
The secretary led them to a room with this really ugly fat guy that was wearing clothes that were way to small for him. (Reminds me of my old neighbor shudder) The secretary lined them up and Don started staring at them. Ash felt like he was about to have a nervous breakdown. After about 15 minutes, Don stood in front of them.  
  
"I have decided on this young lady!" He said standing in front of Ash.  
  
Ash paled, and everyone else was just staring at him. Don's goons took everyone else away, and Ash was dragged away into another room. (Deer caught in headlights!)  
  
"So my dear, shall we get started?" He said.  
  
Ash shook himself out of his shock and ripped off his uncomfortable dress and other things. (He had his other clothes under them) He unsheathed the Rangarook and pointed it under Don's neck.  
  
"A man?!" Don shouted, receiving a minor cut on his neck.  
  
"Shut up you fucker! Tell me what Shinra is doing now or you'll find yourself headless!" Ash shouted.  
  
"N-No! Ok! I'll tell! They're planning on destroying the sector 7 pillar and sending the plate crashing down on a rebel group called AVALANCHE!" Don squealed.  
  
At that moment, everyone else ran into the room. Ash went over to them and told them what he had been told. They did not even see when Don flipped a switch, activating a trap door and sending them plummeting into the sewers.  
  
When everybody was up, there was a strange growling noise. Everyone looked in that direction and there stood a huge, green monster. It roared and slammed it's huge green fist into Aeries, knocking her out instantly. Tifa then had a red glow surround her, and she shouted "Beat Rush!" running up to the monster and slamming her fists into it, then doing a summersault flip on it. The monster shrieked and jumped, causing a huge tidal wave that smashed into her and Cloud, knocking them out also. Ash was pissed. A red glow surrounded him also and he shouted "Phoenix Blade!" His sword lit on fire and fiery wings formed on his back. He charged at the monster known as Aps and ripped his sword right through it, and it immediately burst into flames. Moments later it was only murky ash in the water. When his blade and himself were back to normal, he and Misty used phoenix downs on everybody.  
  
When everybody was revived, they collected all their things and started moving through the sewers. Tifa found a steal Materia, which she equipped, and soon enough they found a hole that led to the slums. Exiting the Sewers, they immerged on the other side of the hole, and each had to stop in surprise. They weren't just anywhere.  
  
They were in a Train Graveyard.  
  
Chapter 5: Pillar Problem  
  
Ash looked around. He could definitely tell why it was called the train graveyard. Broken trains and their tracks were littered everywhere, and the area itself was murky, dark and foggy. What made it even creepier was the fact that some of the lights were still flashing on and off. How? He really didn't care; he just wanted to get the hell out of there.  
  
"Let's not just stand here! We have our friends to save!" Tifa shouted to the group.  
  
Everyone nodded to her outburst and huddled together. They walked through broken catwalks and tracks, through holes in the trains, and even on top of them. Suddenly Misty let out a scream, and Ash ran over to her.  
  
"Misty! Are you ok? What happened?"  
  
"S-Something touched me, and it wasn't any of you." She answered, white as hospital bed sheets.  
  
Everyone turned in the direction Misty said the touch came from and stared. Moments inched by, and suddenly three white ghosts appeared. Misty screamed again, and Ash attempted to slash through the ghost, but it just went right through it.  
  
"Damn! Looks like we'll have to use Materia!" Ash shouted and cast a bolt on the ghost, killing it. (How can you kill a ghost? Oh well, whatever.)  
  
They nodded, and also began lashing out on the ghosts with their Materia. It didn't take long to defeat them, and Misty calmed down considerably, although she kept extra close to Ash.  
  
They continued through the graveyard, killing a few more ghosts on the way and a monster that resembled a dead man riding a dead chariot. Tifa managed to steal a new staff for Aeries, the Striking Staff. Cloud had to actually move some trains so they could continue, and soon they were finally out of the horrible train graveyard.  
  
At the station, the sound of bullets could be heard, along with many explosions. Without thinking anymore, they all ran the rest of the way to Sector 7. Looking up, they could see the bullets and the cursing shouts of Barret and Brock.  
  
"Ash! Take Aeries and hide, we'll be right back." Cloud said. "Pikachu, go with him"  
  
"Pika pi pi!" Said the yellow electric mouse, following the disappearing Aeries and Ash.  
  
"Ok, let's go!" Cloud said to the two girls.  
  
The girls nodded and followed Cloud up the winding stairs of the pillar, meeting red SOLDIERS wielding propellers. Misty got sick of them quickly and dispatched them with her 'Water Smash' limit and they increased their speed up the stairs.  
  
Halfway up, they encountered a wounded Jessie, who told them to just continue and help Brock and Barret. Hesitantly, they agreed and soon reached the top, were they were greeted by non other than Reno of the Turks.  
  
"Damn!" Cloud shouted.  
  
"Yo spiky ass! Bout time you got your ass up here!" Barret yelled over the gunfire.  
  
Misty sighed and ran over to Reno. Tifa, Cloud, Brock, and Barret soon followed.  
  
"We cannot allow you to destroy this pillar!" Tifa shouted.  
  
Reno yawned and pretended to pull earwax out of his ear, then he pulled out his night stick and smiled.  
  
"Let's just see about that!"  
  
The first thing he did was fire an electrically charged blast at Tifa, paralyzing her on the ground. Togepi, who was with Misty at the time, began her Metronome attack, sending a psychic wave at Reno, making him blast backwards.  
  
"Damn!" Reno said, then looked at his watch. "Time to go!"  
  
A helicopter flew near the pillar, and the door opened, revealing and unconscious Ash and pikachu and a screaming Aeries. Behind them was a black- haired man in a Turks uniform. Reno jumped into the helicopter and shouted to them.  
  
"To bad for you! This place will blow and now we have both Ancients! Have a horrible day!" And with that they flew off.  
  
"Damn!" Cloud shouted as Tifa attempted to defuse the bomb and Misty was crying hysterically.  
  
"I can't defuse it! We need to get out of here now!" Tifa shouted, grabbing a crane.  
  
They all went to the crane, Brock having to drag Misty and Togepi, and they leapt to the safety of Sector 6 right when the bomb exploded, causing the plate to come crashing down on the slums. When the smoke and debris cleared, all they could see was a wall were the slums were. Barret got so mad, he began to fire at it, and Misty continued to cry.  
  
"Stop it everyone!" Tifa shouted, getting everyone's attention "We can't just hang around here! We need to plan to save Ash and Aeris! They were taken by the Shinra! We can't let them get away with that! Come on! We need to rescue them! Who's with me!"  
  
"I am" Said Misty.  
  
"I'm not letting you go by yourself." Cloud added.  
  
"I'm going! Those Shinra are going to get their asses whooped!" yelled Barret.  
  
"I go with my friends" Brock put in.  
  
And so they all agreed to raid the Shinra HQ to save Ash, Aeries, and Pikachu. But first, they wanted to go to Aeries's house and tell what happened to Aeries and also see Barret's adopted daughter, Marlene.  
  
The group walked through the sector 6 slums to the sector 5 slums to Aeries's house, were they were greeted by Elmyra and a energetic Marlene. They quickly explained the situation, and watched as her eyes turned sad.  
  
"I knew something like this would happen ever since I took her in and found out she was an Ancient."  
  
"What? You mean your not Aeries's real mom?" Said Tifa.  
  
"No, you see, I was waiting for my husband to come home, and I waited many days, but he never showed up. One day, a dying woman was there, and asked me to take care of Aeries, so I did. Then, on just a normal day, she told me that my husband had returned to the planet. I didn't know what it meant at first, but a few days later I got a letter saying my husband was dead. Ever since then, I knew Aeries was an Ancient. But unfortunately, so did the Shinra. They were trying to capture her ever since. You see, the Ancients were people who were supposed to help the planet, and then finally end up at the Promised Land, a place fertile and full of Mako. The Shinra want the Promised Land for themselves, and will use Aeries and that boy Ash to try and get it" Elmyra said.  
  
"Oh my God" Misty mumbled.  
  
Everybody thanked Elmyra and exited her house. After picking up a few supplies from the slums, they went to the Wall Market, were they heard from a rumor that their was a was to get to the Shinra HQ from there.  
  
Entering the Wall Market, they looked around for a way into the Shinra HQ. Misty ended up wandering into the weapons shop, were she bought batteries, which the old man who owned the shop said that she might need. After nearly an hour of searching, they spotted a group of kids run into an alley they had not seen before.  
  
They entered the alley and noticed a big pole. Each of them climbed up it one by one, and soon they were on their way up. Misty used the batteries she bought to power a propeller to help them continue their trek up, and they also had to swing on a metal rod to be able to reach another wire to climb.  
  
Finally they reached the Shinra HQ. It was a huge building. And when I say huge, I mean HUGE!  
  
"So what do we do now?" Misty asked.  
  
"I say we charge in!" Barret yelled.  
  
"No, we should sneak in. What do you say Cloud?" said Tifa.  
  
"It's best not to attract attention, we'll sneak in through the back stairs" Cloud answered.  
  
Everyone agreed but Barret, but he was forced into it anyway. They climbed the never-ending set of stairs, nearly killing themselves from exhaustion. Stairs, stairs, and more stairs. There was nearly no ending it. After and hour of climbing alone, they finally reached the end. Everyone was huffing and puffing on the floor when they finished.  
  
"C-come on. W-we n-need to fi-find our friends!" Misty huffed, and everyone nodded and began their search.  
  
ooOOoo  
  
Ash felt horrible. He felt like he was caught in a plane engine. He groggily opened his eyes, taking note of all the scientific machinery around him.  
  
"So, your awake." Said a voice.  
  
Ash looked in the direction of the voice, and saw a man in his 5060s. Some how, his hair still had black in it, he had huge scientific glasses, and a white lab coat on.  
  
"Where the hell am I?" Ash asked, getting very angry.  
  
"It doesn't matter. Now let's see how you behave with another species. You seem to get along with that yellow monster. I'll see how you behave with that too." The guy said, flipping a switch.  
  
The ground under Ash moved, and he ended up in another room, were he saw Aeries and Pikachu. Before he could do anything, a red creature was raised into the room. It looked like a lion, only it was red, his mane went down his back, and his tail was a flame. The creature stepped up to them, and began growling. Pikachu was about to thunder shock it, but Ash stopped him. He walked up to the creature and began scratching it behind the ears. The creature just stared at him, and Ash smiled.  
  
"Well, looks like we're all stuck here for a while, do you know how to play cards?"  
  
"I know how to play crazy 8s" The creature replied.  
  
"You can talk? Cool! What's your name?" Ash asked  
  
"The numbers on my arm says Red XIII, so you and your friends can call Red." Red replied.  
  
"Ok!" Ash said excitedly.  
  
So they all got in a circle and began to play crazy 8s, talking to each other the entire time. Red was really surprised to discover that they were ancients, and they learned that Red was from a place from Cosmo Canyon. They continued to talk, waiting for anything to happen, or at least dinner.  
  
Chapter 6: Raiding the Shinra  
  
Cloud, Tifa, Misty, Barret, and Brock made their way up the floors of the Shinra building as quickly as they could. They had passed the 60th and 61st floors without a problem, but they needed a cardkey to be able to continue. This floor looked like a library. After looking around in the rooms for a while, they came across a room with a old man inside. They asked him if he had the cardkey, and he told them if they guessed his favorite four-lettered word from a sheet he would give the keys to them. After a while of thinking, Misty guessed Mako, which, amazingly, was correct, and they received keycard 63, 64, and 65.  
  
When they had finished taking a short break on the 64th floor, which just so happened to be a gym, they continued to climb the stairs to the 65th floor. There they had to get pieces of Midgar in a certain order and put it back together in the center room. With that finished, a clicking noise was heard signaling that they could continue up the stairs.  
  
The next floor, the 66th, appeared to have a meeting going on in the central room at the time. Brilliant plan or not, they went into the bathrooms, jumped onto the toilet, and crawled through the ductwork until they were over the meeting. They listened.  
  
"We need to find Huge Materia. Big, shiny, huge Materia."  
  
"And were will we find that?"  
  
"The reactors usually have one. We'll take them."  
  
"Hmmm. Hojo, how are the Ancients coming?"  
  
"We may find the Promised Land, or we may not. But I will never finish my research in my lifetime, or theirs. I think we should breed the specimens. That way my research can continue."  
  
"Interesting. What are they doing now?"  
  
"I wanted to see how they would react with monsters in a close area to them, so I placed that yellow monster and my new specimen in with them. The results were not what I expected at all. Right now I believe they are all amusing themselves with a game of cards."  
  
"What do you figure for their intelligence?"  
  
"They have some intellect. As much as a human, I cannot tell yet. It would take years of research to find out." The man who had been talking, a older man in a lab coat and funny glasses, exited the meeting at this time.  
  
With that everybody climbed back down the ductwork and back into the bathrooms. They quickly followed the scientist up the stairs again to a new floor. They passed boxes and crates, and this one very odd pod. Cloud took a look in the window, and seemed to fuzz out for a moment, before coming back to reality. Barret, seeing him do this, also looked into the window, and was greeted by some kind of headless monster. It's shape was somewhat human, but it had red wings coming out of it's back. The wings looked like that of an outstretched dragon.  
  
"Who the hell would put that damn headless freak in there?" Barret yelled.  
  
"Look at that sign." Misty said, pointing to the top of the pod "It says Jenova. Is that it's name?"  
  
"It doesn't matter right now, we need to save Ash and Aeries right now!" Tifa called above the others.  
  
So they continued towards the elevator, picking up a poison Materia on the way, Brock being the one to equip it. When they went down the elevator, they ended up in a new room. This room had a round prison in the middle, and on closer look, they saw Ash, Aeries, Pikachu, and a red lion shouting at that Hojo guy to let them out.  
  
Everybody ran over to them, accept Cloud, who had his Buster sword to Hojo's throat, demanding to let them go. When they were free though, Hojo started laughing.  
  
"I'd like you to meet one of my other specimens! And this on is ferocious!"  
  
The ground began to shake and I giant monster and three littler monsters appeared.  
  
"HO512! Ho512-opt! Show them what you're made of!"  
  
The monster roared. The littler monsters began to charge at everybody. Ash easily took out the one that charged at him and killed it, but suddenly it was revived by HO512. Ash, along with Cloud who also discovered this problem, cursed violently. Ash looked to his left, were Misty was, only to see the long arm of HO512 smash into her, sending her flying across the room and into a wall.  
  
Ash stared in shock for a moment at what he just saw, them it turned into anger. Red dragon wings formed on his back, and his eyes turned a glowing blood red. His skin turned a shade paler, and his ears became longer and pointed. He also had a long red tail swinging back and forth behind him, long sword-like silvery spikes poking out the end. He lifted his sword up, the blade itself a fiery orange as if hot metal, and charged at HO512, jumping high into the air and sending it crashing down on it, cutting it clean in half.  
  
With the death of their master, the HO512-opt withered away. Ash re- sheathed his sword, the wings and red eyes, along with everything else disappearing, and ran over to Misty. He quickly gave her a phoenix down and a potion, and lifted her up, then turned to his friends. Tifa, Brock, Misty, and Barret looked at him a little odd, Aeries just sighed and kicked Hojo, Red looked at him in fascination, and Cloud looked like a deer caught in headlights.  
  
Ash sighed. Whatever just happened to him felt very strange, ad yet not so. He felt like he could have done that all his life if he wanted to, and could probably do it again, only this time he was confident he didn't need to be pissed off to do it.  
  
"Now what?" He asked.  
  
Barret shook his head to clear his thoughts.  
  
"Now we're going to get that Shinra son of a bitch and put a stop to all this damn nonsense!"  
  
"Alright then. Let's go! I'm getting old here!" Misty shouted, who was now on her own two feet.  
  
Everyone sweatdropped and nodded, and they all went into the elevator. About half way up, the elevator stopped and the Turks walked in.  
  
"Going up?" Said the bald one.  
  
"Damn!" Shouted Ash.  
  
ooOOoo  
  
Everyone had their hands tied behind their back, accept for Red, whose paws were shackled together. They were all in the president's office, and in front of them was the headman himself. Suddenly a man came in with a stack of papers.  
  
"Sir, the estimated damage for sector 7 is 10 billion gil. When do we start rebuilding?" Said the man.  
  
"We don't" President Shinra replied.  
  
"What?!" Everyone in the room said.  
  
"We do not need to rebuild. With the Ancients, we will find the Promised Land, and there we will build Neo-Midgar! Ho ho ho!"  
  
"You dirty shit bag! I outta!" Barret started, but the President cut him off.  
  
"Take them away." He said, waving his hand.  
  
And with that they were all dragged off to the holding area.  
  
Chapter 6: Escape and a Journey  
  
Jail with Ash and Misty  
  
Ash sighed. He was extremely bored. He thought about changing again and trying to bash the door down, but he wasn't that desperate yet. Anyway, that would attract way too much unwanted attention. Ash looked at Misty. She looked bored out of her mind to. She was lying on the cot, starring at the ceiling.  
  
"Do you think we'll get out of here Ash?" Misty asked, still not taking her eyes off the ceiling.  
  
"Of course. Why, want to stay here?" Ash joked.  
  
Misty got a little mad and bashed him over the head with her mallet, which she somehow pulled from subspace, then it disappeared to that place only she knows about. Ash rubbed his aching head, and pretended to pout.  
  
"What was that for?"  
  
"Sorry Ash, I guess I'm a little moody"  
  
"That's ok"  
  
Ash leaned against the wall and yawned. He pulled his hat over his eyes.  
  
"Let's get some sleep. God only knows how long we'll be here."  
  
"Ok."  
  
Aeries, Brock, and Pikachu  
  
"This is all my fault. If I had just refused to go with Ash and Cloud and pushed away my stubbornness, non of this would have happened" Aeries moaned, petting pikachu who was on her lap.  
  
"It's not your fault, don't blame yourself. Ash probably would have ended us up here anyway." Brock said, putting a hand on her shoulder.  
  
Aeries looked up, and stared at Brock's face. She smiled and chuckled a little bit.  
  
"Interesting how you think of your friends Brock, but, I see your point. I just hope we manage to get out of here s-soon" Aeries said, having to cover a yawn at the end.  
  
"According to my watch, it is three in the morning. I think we better get some rest."  
  
"Oh, ok."  
  
Aeries and pikachu took the cot, and like Ash, Brock sat up against the wall. Soon, they were out like a light.  
  
Barret and Red  
  
Unlike the others, Barret took to shooting at the door, a very vain attempt at trying to blow a hole through it. Red, who was trying his best to avoid stray bullets, was getting the shit scared out of him. Finally not being able to take it anymore, he tackled Barret to the ground.  
  
"Get of me you god damn blood hound! I nearly made a hole! Shit!" Barret shouted, trying to pry the dog off him.  
  
"No you did not. What you are doing though is nearly killing me! You are wasting bullets you will need when we escape. Now, I suggest we all get some rest. I know we will need it."  
  
Barret grumbled for a while, but complied. Since he was to big for the cot, he sat down on the ground, near where Red had curled himself into a ball. Soon they were seeing Zs.  
  
Tifa and Cloud  
  
Tifa laid on the cot much like Misty had, and Cloud was starring at the wall. They had both been listening to Barret fire away at the door and when it finally stopped they both sighed. They noise had really begun to hurt their ears. With the noise finally ended, Tifa went to sleep. Cloud stayed up a bit longer, but he too fell asleep after a while.  
  
Cloud woke up a little while later and the very first thing that he toke note of was the fact that his cell door was open. Not wanting this wonderful opportunity to pass, he woke up Tifa. She too was surprised that the door was open, but that didn't matter. It was a way out and it was calling.  
  
When they were out, they noticed that the jailer was lying dead on the floor. Gross as it was, Tifa took the key from the corpse and unlocked everyone else's doors, waking them up, and taking them out of their cells.  
  
Back to normal peoples  
  
Aeries was sickened. They were following a trail of blood that continued up the stair and headed to the president's office. If there had been a bathroom nearby, she would be there in an instant. Looking at the others, she noticed that everyone was a sickened as her. When they reached the president's office, a gruesome sight was ahead of them. Topped in his seat lay the president, a long sword through his back.  
  
"The Masamune. Seprioth is here." Cloud said, loud enough for everyone to hear.  
  
Everyone was taken out of their thoughts but the sound of a helicopter. While Ash and Cloud went to see what it was, the others were told to get out of the building. Reluctantly, they split up.  
  
Ash and Cloud  
  
Ash and Cloud ran outside, their swords drawn. Outside was a middle- aged man in a white coat and blonde hair. Next to him was a purple dog-like beast with a tentacle on it's head.  
  
"Rufus, the son of Shinra. I should have known." Cloud said, pointing his sword in front of him.  
  
"Correct, and now that my father is gone, I am the new president of the Shinra Company, and I will be the one to find the Promised Land."  
  
"Not in this lifetime!" Ash said, having the wings come back and charged at Rufus, but was bounced off by some kind of barrier.  
  
"Damn! A shield! Ash, we need to destroy Dark Nation first!" Called Cloud, who was grappling with the beast at that very moment.  
  
Dark Nation bit into Cloud's arm, making him shout out. He roughly pushed the beast off and slashed him in two with his Buster sword. He gave thumbs up to Ash, and he smiled and turned to face Rufus. Rufus looked down at his watch and yawned. Suddenly the helicopter reappeared, and he grabbed onto the bars and sped away.  
  
"Damn coward" Ash mumbled.  
  
"Come on, let's go find the others. We'll worry about this later." Cloud shouted, waving to Ash and running into the building.  
  
"Alright" Ash replied, retracting his wings and running back into the building after Cloud.  
  
Tifa  
  
They were all running down the stairs. When they reached the doorframe of the 69th floor, Tifa called them to a stop.  
  
"You guys, I'm going to wait for Ash and Cloud. Go on ahead, I'll be there in a moment."  
  
They nodded to Tifa and continued on their way, disappearing down an elevator. After about 10 minutes went by, Ash and Cloud came running down the stairs. Tifa ran up to them, mildly surprising them.  
  
"Guys, I have an idea how to get out of here, but you'll need to help me." Tifa said.  
  
The boys looked at Tifa for a moment and nodded, following the brown- haired fighter as she ran to another room.  
  
Misty, Barret, Brock, Aeries, Red, and Pikachu  
  
They were all going down the elevator, but almost immediately another elevator matched their speed going down. In the other elevator was a giant mechanical machine. The Hundred Gunner. It blasted the glass out of the elevator everyone was in. Barret and pikachu, the only ones who could reach the machine, were blasting it with their all. Occasionally, Misty would use her 'Water Smash' and Red's 'Sled Fang'.  
  
Suddenly Hundred Gunner exploded, revealing a new terror, Heli Gunner. It shot at them, thankfully missing, but was still disturbing enough. Brock finally glowed red, and he shouted 'Titan Cat!'. His Kaiser knuckle claws glowed a yellow light, and he ran them down the air in one swift motion. Blades of light blasted at Heli Gunner, shredding it to pieces. Conveniently enough, the elevator stopped then and let them all off on the first floor.  
  
When they got off, they headed for the doors, but heard bullets firing on the other end.  
  
"Damn!" Barret shouted, firing his own gun. "Looks like we're not getting out this way!"  
  
Suddenly, Tifa appeared behind them.  
  
"Guys! This way!" She shouted, just when Ash and Cloud came barreling down the stairs on two motorcycles, swords raised and ready for action.  
  
Everyone followed her, and they ran into a room filled with cars. They all jumped into a pick-up truck, and Tifa fired up the engine.  
  
"Let's go!"  
  
Normal now (or as close as it comes!)  
  
They all smashed through the doors. Cloud and Ash wigging around their blades at the SOLDIERS who tried to stop their escape. They burned rubber through the streets, smashing all the Shinra employees who were on motorcycles trying to stop them. When the road stopped, they turned around, only to come face to face with the mechanical road destroyer Motor Ball.  
  
It drove up right to them, smashing into them and causing them to all fly back. Ash mumbled a 'street pizza' as he collected himself off the ground and transformed again, taking to the air. Below him, everyone was attacking and counter attacking Motor Ball, and Aeries was using her limit break 'Healing Wind'. Ash readied his sword and pointed it downwards. "Thunder Slash!" He yelled, making is blade electrically charged, then flew downwards and drove the Rangarook into it, making it blow up almost immediately.  
  
When everyone was healed, Cloud stood at the end of the street, staring at apparently nothing.  
  
"Cloud? What do we do now?" Barret asked.  
  
"Sephiroth is alive. I. I have to settle the score." Cloud answered.  
  
"We'll go with you. You'll need all the help you can get" Ash said, pointing to Brock and Misty.  
  
"Can't let my boyfriend just run off again!" Tifa said smiling.  
  
"Maybe you can help me find my home." said Red.  
  
"And I want to learn more about the Ancients" added Aeries.  
  
"I need to avenge AVALANCHE. Those Shinra bastards will pay!" yelled Barret.  
  
Cloud stared at the group for a little while, then smiled.  
  
"You would really come?"  
  
"Of course!" they all said at the same time.  
  
"Well, let's go prepare then."  
  
ooOOoo  
  
Everyone was now standing outside the gate of Midgar. They were finally ready to leave. Ash, Misty and Brock had left their pokemon at Elmyra's to guard her house and take care of her and Marlene, although it took quite a bit of persuasion. Now they were ready to go.  
  
"You know, I think we need a leader for this trip, but I think it's a tie, so we'll have two." Aeries said.  
  
"An one of them's me!" Barret bellowed.  
  
"Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of Cloud and Ash." Said Aeries.  
  
"What?!" Shouted Barret.  
  
"I think that's a wonderful idea," added Tifa.  
  
"Me too" said Misty.  
  
"Don't care," said Red and Brock.  
  
"Ghaaaaaaaa!"  
  
"Alright! Ash and Cloud are the leaders!" Aeries said excitedly. "What do we do?"  
  
"We should probably move in groups, less people, less attention." Commented Ash.  
  
"Good idea." Said Cloud. "Tifa, Me, Ash, and Misty will be in one group, the rest of you move ahead to Kalm."  
  
Everyone nodded in agreement.  
  
"I guess this is the start of our journey." Tifa said as they headed out to Kalm.  
  
Chapter 8: Memories  
  
It took nearly two days to reach the (excuse the pun) calm village of Kalm. They all went inside the inn, were they had agreed to meet. Climbing the stairs, they were met by Brock, who escorted them the rest of the way us and led them to a room.  
  
When they got inside, Ash took note that everybody was already in the room. He sat in-between Misty and Brock and opened a can of Dr. Pepper, compliments to Tifa.  
  
"I suppose you would like to know more about Sephiroth." Cloud said.  
  
"That would greatly help" Red said.  
  
The rest of the group nodded. Cloud sighed.  
  
"Alright, this is what happened"  
  
Flashback in Cloud's point of view  
  
It was my very first mission in SOLDIER. I was a little disappointed that all the wars were over already, so I didn't get much action. We were in the van. It was raining at the time. I was all exited because I was given some new Materia. Suddenly the van shook. The driver said that it was being attacked by a monster. Sepiroth and I went out and defeated it, though I did very little. It was Sephiroth who did everything.  
  
When we reached Nibelheim, we stopped at the inn to rest. I explored the town at the time, stopping at my mom's house and even paid a visit to Tifa's home. But she wasn't there at the time, so I went back to the inn for the night.  
  
The next morning, we met outside in front of the Nibelheim Mansion. Tifa was there, and I found it quite interesting to discover that she was going to be out guide for the trip. A local photographer saw us, and before we left, we had our picture taken. He said that he would give us copies once they were developed.  
  
We left soon after. The Nibel Mountains are a gold mine for Mako. The rocks themselves glow because of all the Mako, and that's why a reactor was built there. That was our target.  
  
When we were climbing through the mountains, we began to cross a bridge. It must not have been sturdy enough, because when we were all on it, the ropes snapped and we all tumbled down the mountain. Collecting ourselves together, we realized we were missing a troop, but Sephiroth insisted we leave him, no matter how cold it was.  
  
Eventually, we did end up continuing, and we stumbled upon a Mako fountain. A natural spring of Mako. Apparently, Materia is the knowledge of the Ancients, and that is why they hold power.  
  
Finally we reached the reactor. Tifa was kept outside, while Sephiroth and I went inside to exterminate the problem. At first it appeared that it was only a broken valve, but it ended up being more than that. Inside the pods, which were lined up in the reactor, were actually humans, being extremely exposed to Mako, turning them literally into monsters. Strange enough, the project was called project Jenova, the name of Sephiroth's supposed mother.  
  
When we went back to Nibelheim, Sephiroth immediately went into the Nibelheim Mansion, were he stayed by himself for nearly a weak. One day, I just got sick of waiting and went to find him. He was found in the basement, books all over the place. He kept on talking about a 2000 year old, thing, was found apparently dead. It was called Jenova. According to Hojo, this Jenova was an Ancient. I think staying down there and reading all that shit drove him mad. He exited the mansion, and I followed soon after.  
  
Outside, everything was on fire. Houses, people, you name it, and my mother was one of the unfortunates. All I could do was stare in horror as Sephiroth continued to kill people on his way towards the Nibel reactor.  
  
Coming to my senses, I chased Sephiroth all the way back to the reactor, to witness Tifa grieving over her slain father and attempt to kill him herself, only to end up hurt herself. I continued to chase Sephiroth into the Jenova chamber. He ripped away the machine part, to reveal the Jenova you saw at the Shinra HQ. Unfortunately, the rest I do not remember.  
  
End of Flashback  
  
"What the hell do you mean you don't remember?!" Barret yelled.  
  
"Like I said, I don't remember." Cloud answered.  
  
Barret looked like he was about to attempt to strangle Cloud, but Tifa stopped him. Barret huffed, and Ash snickered at the sight. When everything had settled down, Tifa handed everyone something that resembled a cell phone.  
  
"This is so we can keep in touch during our travels. Since we are not always going to be together, I figured that these would come in handy!"  
  
"Thank you" Ash said, soon followed by everyone else's versions of thanks.  
  
"Alright people. We have another day ahead of us tomorrow. Let's rest up and figure what to do in the morning," Cloud said.  
  
Everyone readily agreed and they all went to their rooms for a good nights rest. They all figured that they would need it.  
  
The next morning, they all met in front of the inn again. Even though they were all still tiered, they knew they needed an early start.  
  
"Alright, same groups as last time. Now, there is supposed to be a Chocobo farm southeast from there. We'll all meet there and discuss what to do from there." Cloud announced.  
  
Everyone nodded, and went to stock up their supplies in the town. They refilled their potion inventory, bought some better armor, and got some more Materia.  
  
Finally they were ready to go. Brock, Barret, Aeries, and Red had left earlier, and now Ash, Misty, Cloud, and Tifa were now leaving.  
  
"So, we're meeting them at the chocobo farm? That picture you showed me of them helps a lot. They are so cute! I can't wait to see them! I wonder if I'll get to ride one!" Misty squealed. Ever since she had seen that picture, she couldn't wait to leave.  
  
"Maybe, we'll find out when we get there." Ash told his girlfriend.  
  
Tifa chuckle. She found watching the two teenagers so amusing to watch, especially when they were arguing. She looked up at Cloud and smiled sadly. If only he knew.  
  
"Come on slowpokes! Snails are faster!" Misty shouted ahead of them, waving her hand in the air.  
  
Ash sighed. This was going to be an interesting journey.  
  
Chapter 9: Chocobos and Mines  
  
They were almost to the farm. Misty was singing a perky tone, skipping as she went. Ash was looking at her as if she were mad, and Cloud and Tifa were talking quietly to one another.  
  
"Misty, stop that. Please!" Ash yelled, his hands covering his ears.  
  
"My singing is not that bad!" Misty countered.  
  
"No comment."  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
The next thing that was heard was a mallet smashing into a skull. Cloud and Tifa sighed. They could just see that happening. It was almost. Predictable. Before they could dwell on it though, the Chocobo farm was in sight. Misty's eyes turned to stars as she saw the oversized yellow birds in the fence. She ran up to them at full speed, and began petting their heads.  
  
"Kweeh!" The one she was petting purred.  
  
"Oh, so cute!" Misty said.  
  
Ash sighed. This was going to be a very long day.  
  
"Hey Mist! We're going to go and plan! Are you going to stay here?" Ash asked.  
  
"Yeah!" Misty responded.  
  
"Alright, I'll come get you when we're done."  
  
"Ok!"  
  
While Misty went back to petting the yellow bird, Ash and the others went into the barn, were they met up with the others. They were talking to this light brown haired kid in a white T-shirt and beat-up blue jeans. It was then that Brock took notice of them, and walked over to Cloud.  
  
"So? What have you found out?" Cloud asked.  
  
"Well. We cannot get through to the mines because of the Midgar Zolom without a Chocobo, but there are no free ones here. We ended up buying a 'Chocobo Lure' Materia. It'll draw Chocobos to us so we can catch and ride them to the other side of the marsh." Said Brock  
  
"Alright, thank you." Said Cloud. "Everyone hear that?"  
  
Everyone answered yes, and they went back out of the barn. Ash told Misty what he was told, and soon they were Chocobo hunting. After about a half an hour of searching, they finally encountered a flock of Chocobo. Brock threw them a bunch of Tantal Greens, distracting them enough for every one to saddle a Chocobo.  
  
"Score!" Ash shouted.  
  
"Oh geez" Brock mumbled.  
  
They rode the Chocobos through the marsh, having to take shortcuts every once in a while because of the Zolom. They could see why they needed the Chocobos, the terrain was nearly impossible for a normal human to walk through. When they reached the other side, they dismounted the flightless birds quickly, and approached the mines quickly, only to witness a horrifying sight. Impaled on a branchless tree was a Zolom, in all its faded glory. Misty and Aeries went to throw up somewhere, and Ash almost joined them.  
  
"Holy Shit! Sephiroth did this?" Barret shouted.  
  
Cloud was silently starring at the sight. The monster's cobra-like body was hanging limply everywhere, and its blood was splattered all over, staining the grass red. When the girls came back, they immediately went into the caves, that ay they would not have to look at the horrifying sight.  
  
Everything in the Mythril Mines seemed to be either black, or green. The ground was amazingly smooth for being a cave, and it was very easy to walk through. When they went through another part of the cave, they came face to face with the last people they wanted to meet up with, the Turks.  
  
"Great. So much for a smooth mission" Said Rude, the bald, shades wearing Turk.  
  
"Don't worry! They won't disrupt our mission!" Said another voice.  
  
The group looked up, and standing on one of the ledges was a blonde woman in her late 20's early 30's. She jumped down by Rude and another Turk. Supposedly Tesneg, the leader of the Turks.  
  
"Who the hell are you?!" Yelled Barret.  
  
"I am Elena of the Turks! I got promoted when Reno got beat up in the pillar assault. We're on a mission to find Sephiroth! He's heading to Junon Harbor! But we'll find him first!" Elena shouted.  
  
Rude smacked his forehead and Tesneg sighed. Newbies.  
  
"Elena, you weren't supposed to tell them that." Tesneg said.  
  
"Oops! Sorry guys." Elena apologized  
  
"Forgiven. Now, lets get out of here, this place gives me the creeps." Tesneg said, exiting out of the cave.  
  
"Wait for me!" Elena shouted, following after him.  
  
"I hate my job." Rude finished, walking after the unusually hyper 30 year old.  
  
Everyone starred at them as they left, eyebrows twitching every few moments, then they too left into the outdoors.  
  
The sun was high in the sky, signaling that it was some time in the afternoon. They walked for a few hours, and came across a huge reactor in the middle of nowhere with a huge, and I mean huge condor sitting on it's top with an egg.  
  
"Better remember about this place guys. Random odd places like this always need to be remembered" Ash said.  
  
Misty popped him over the head but agreed. Weird as it was, he did have a point.  
  
They continued walking for most of the rest of the day. Finally in the distance, they could make out the huge cannon that had Junon Harbor famous.  
  
"Looks like we're almost there. Do you think Sephiroth is really there?" Ash asked no one in particular.  
  
"Who knows Ash" Misty replied. "But I hope nothing bad happens."  
  
Chapter 10: Embarrassing Phone Call  
  
Right before they entered Junon, to Ash's embarrassment, his vidphone started ringing to the tone of lambchop's play along, 'this is the song that never ends'. Ash hit the on button and saw his mom's face appear on the screen.  
  
"Um, hi mom." He said. By now everybody had stopped and were listening in on the conversation.  
  
"Hello Ash! I haven't heard from you in a while! What have you been up to?" Delia's smiling face asked.  
  
"Um, not much. I got caught by Shinra, saved by my friends. When I want, I can have these wings come on my back and my eyes turn red along with other stuff. I have a tail too. That's a little weird. Err, now we are all traveling to Junon after this psycho named Sephrioth. He's creepy. Umm, well, does that tell you anything?"  
  
"Yes. My you have been busy. So you have been traveling?"  
  
"Yes mom"  
  
"Did you pack plenty of you-know-whats?"  
  
Everyone in the background began to snicker and laugh at that, and Ash's face turned as red as a tomato.  
  
"Y-yes mom"  
  
"Good. Now, remember, don't do anything you will regret, remember to brush your teeth and remember to keep the toilet seat down!"  
  
"MOM!"  
  
"Ok, ok. Be good honey! And take care of your friends. I know you can."  
  
"Don't worry mom. I will."  
  
"Alright Ash, Next time you call me, and don't get yourself killed! And stay away from that bastard Hojo!"  
  
"How do you know Hojo?"  
  
"He was the one who chased me down. Twisted bastard. Oh, sorry Ash, excuse my language."  
  
"That's ok."  
  
"Well alright. By Sweetie!"  
  
"By mom"  
  
Click  
  
Now the laughter was very loud. Instinctively, Ash picked up a rock and tossed it. It hit Brock on the head, knocking him out, but they continued to laugh anyway.  
  
"Do you got your you-know-whats Ash? Are they all clean?" Misty mocked.  
  
"Remember to keep the toilet seat down Ash!" Cloud chocked out between laughs.  
  
"Oh come on guys! That was my mom! What do you expect? I bet your moms would do the exact same thing!" Ash shouted red faced.  
  
"Maybe, but thankfully they are not here!" Aeries laughed.  
  
"You have to admit, it was rather amusing" Red said, a feline smile on his face.  
  
Ash sighed defeated. Why did he have to have such weird friends? (Cause I make them weird!)  
  
"Come on guys, we're almost there. Lay off until then."  
  
They all said they would, but that didn't stop them from laughing every once in a while to the great disappointment of Ash.  
  
Finally they got to the town. It was murky, cold, and dark. There was a beach near by, and they headed down to that. There, there was a little girl playing with a dolphin. When she noticed them, she started calling them Shinra troops and backed up, spraining her ankle on a rock and falling into the water. As if things weren't bad enough, a giant, bony water serpent flew over. It gave a shriek and charged them.  
  
"Oh Shit!"  
  
Chapter 11: Bottomswell and the Parade  
  
The monster, Bottomswell, screeched and flailed it's tail, hitting Brock in the stomach and sending him flying into the rock face on the beach shore. While Aeries ran over to him to give him a potion, Barret assaulted it with his gun arm.  
  
Bottomswell roared savagely after being hit in the head, and splashed at the water, causing everyone but Ash to be deluged, since he was in the air at the time. Doing a quick check to make such everyone was ok, Ash face the monster.  
  
"Is that the best you got you mutant bastard son of Leviathan?!"  
  
He flew at it, and with one horizontal swipe cut off its tail. The creature shrieked and roared, then fired a blue, bubble-like thing at him at incredible speed, catching him inside.  
  
"What the hell?!" Ash shouted, pounding on the bubble's surface.  
  
While the others continued to fight, Misty ran over to Ash. She too began to pound on the surface with her mallet, but it did little good. Then she suddenly got an idea. She took out her Materia and cast ice2 on the bubble. Within moments, the bubble barrier disappeared.  
  
"That was brilliant Misty!" Ash said.  
  
"I know" Misty beamed.  
  
Out in the fight, Aeries was kept busy constantly healing everyone. Barret continued his never-ending shooting spree, and Red didn't like the idea of getting wet too much. Somehow Tifa ended up on the monster's back and was punching it's head like no tomorrow. Brock was swearing because he was thrown back into the rock face again. And Cloud began to glow red. Tifa saw this, and jumped off Bottomswell, just as Cloud shouted "Blade Beam!"  
  
A blade of light erupted out of Cloud's Buster sword as he swung it downwards. The blade blasted through the air, right at Bottomswell. When it hit him, the monster gave one last painful shriek right before it was obliterated.  
  
With that done, everyone seemed to notice at the same time the girl who had fallen into the water. Brock ran up and lifted her up and brought her to the sandy beach. Right then, an old man came onto the beach and noticed the situation. He ran up to her and checked her pulses.  
  
"She's not breathing! Someone has to give Priscilla CPR!" The old man shouted to the group.  
  
"I'll do it." Brock said, making everyone give him a warily look.  
  
"Why you?" Misty asked.  
  
"Well, a girl wouldn't do it, Barret and Red wouldn't do it, and Cloud and Ash have girlfriends that would kick their asses if they even got near another girl." Brock answered.  
  
Silence for a moment.  
  
"Alright, but it damn well better not look like your enjoying yourself." Misty said, taking gout her mallet to prove her point. Brock sweatdropped and went over to Priscilla.  
  
Everyone closed their eyes when Brock was giving the girl CPR. It was just to disturbing for them to watch, but when the sound of coughing was heard, they saw the girl Priscilla twitch and open her eyes. The old man thanked them, and took Priscilla and brought her back home.  
  
"Brock, don't you ever do that again." Aeries said as they walked up the steps back into town.  
  
"Why?" Brock questioned.  
  
"Because." Aeries answered, her face turning slightly pink.  
  
"Because why?"  
  
"Just because!"  
  
"Well, if you say so."  
  
When they reentered Junon, an elderly woman came up to them.  
  
"I heard what you all did for dear Priscilla. If you have no place to stay, would you like to stay at my home? There is plenty of room."  
  
"If that is ok with you ma'm." Tifa answered.  
  
"Of course it is! I wouldn't be asking if it wasn't!" The woman chuckled and motioned them to follow her.  
  
Her home was at the entrance of town. It was a pretty large home, and beds had already been prepared for them. Exhausted from the fight with Bottomswell, they went to bed quickly.  
  
Ash's Dream  
  
There was light. Whispers echoed from the glowing stones. Shouts from many familiar, yet blurry faces called out in some unknown warning. A cruel and unearthly laughter. A glint of metal. Falling. A flash of light. Red dyes the aqua blue water.  
  
End  
  
Ash woke up with a start. He rubbed the back of his neck and yawned.  
  
"No more tacos before bed for me anymore!"  
  
A noise from outside drew his attention from his thoughts. It sounded like some kind of parade was going on. He got out of bed and put his shoes on, set on finding out what all the racket was about. Eventually forgetting about the odd dream entirely.  
  
Cloud's Dream  
  
"What exactly happened at the reactor 5 years ago?"  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
"It doesn't matter. Tifa is hiding something from you. Why don't you ask her about when you went to Nibelheim?"  
  
"Hmmm. Maybe."  
  
"Then wake up!"  
  
End  
  
Cloud woke up and rubbed his eyes. He was about to ask Tifa about Nibelheim, but a loud commotion from outside drew his attention away from that. He put his leather boots on, and went outside.  
  
All his friends were in the middle of town, talking to one another. Ash looked like he just woke up to, because he still looked confused as to what was going on.  
  
"Tifa I." He began, but Tifa did not let him ask his question. Instead, she talked.  
  
"Cloud! You won't believe this! There is a parade going on for Rufus being the new president of Shinra! Their going to board a boat to get to another continent were Sephiroth supposedly is now! What do you think?"  
  
"We should try to sneak in and board the boat." Cloud said, forgetting what he was going to ask earlier.  
  
"Alright, you and Ash do that, me and everyone else will follow suit." Tifa said.  
  
Before he could answer, Priscilla ran down the stairs that connected her house to the main street.  
  
"I can help! Follow me!"  
  
She grabbed Ash and Cloud's arms and dragged them down to the beach. She then looked towards the water and blew a whistle. The dolphin that was there earlier jumped higher than any dolphin should.  
  
"He can jump really high!" Ash exclaimed in awe.  
  
"Yep! He can help you get onto the poles so you can climb up to were the Shinra are. Here is the whistle." Priscilla said, handing it to Ash.  
  
"Thank you." Cloud said.  
  
"No problem. It's the least I could do."  
  
Ash smiled and got into the water and blew the whistle. The dolphin came to him and went under him, then shot into the air. Ash grabbed the pole when it came to him, and he climbed up it to steady himself. Then he threw the whistle back down to Cloud, who did the same.  
  
When they were both up, they climbed up the pole until they reached a place that looked like an airport. They walked through the only door there that led into a building. There were troops there, and the leader went up to them.  
  
"What are you doing still dressed like that! Follow me."  
  
The leader led them to a locker room, and much to Ash's horror and disgust, made them put on troop uniforms. The crampy blue uniform with a blue Darth Vader impersonating helmets. The only reason he did was because it might get him onto the boat easier. If that wasn't bad enough though, two more troops came in and made them go through stupid exercises for the parade.  
  
Finally the leader made them follow him out to the parade, and since they had already missed it, they ended up going through a couple of alleys and had to rejoin the parade there. Cloud did ok, but Ash didn't do so hot. All he was able to do was a rough version of mimicking.  
  
When that horror was over, the leader led them to the boat, were they had to perform for the president much to Ash's disgust. Of course, he did much better this time, same as Cloud, and they got new better swords. Cloud got the Force Stealer, and Ash got the Oblivion, which was a little longer then his old sword.  
  
Finally they boarded the boat, and noticed that everyone else was also on as well, disguised as troops and sailors. They talked for a little while with everyone. But when they went to see Barret, who was spying on the president, the intruder alert sounded off.  
  
"Damn! Did they find us?" Barret yelled.  
  
"No. It can't be us they've found." Ash said quietly.  
  
"But, then there is only one other person it could be." Barret said.  
  
"Sephiroth"  
  
Chapter 12: Boats, Swimwear, and not-so-nice People  
  
Everyone grouped together, making sure that they were all alive. After all was accounted for, Ash grew his wings and had his eyes turn red, along with his tail and pointed ears. He was always stronger when he did this and if he had to go against Sephiroth he wanted to be at his best.  
  
Like in the Shinra HQ, they followed the blood and dead or dying bodies. They led to the back room of the boat, and ahead of them was one of the troop leaders. Ash walked up to him, but right before he got there the troop fell to the ground dead. Ash's face went pale as he saw who was behind the fallen troop.  
  
Sephiroth starred at Ash in an odd way, then in one swift motion brought his blade down on Ash, cutting him deeply across his chest and sending him flying into a wall and hitting his head, knocking him out. While everyone was shouting at the top of his or her lungs, Sephiroth continued to stare.  
  
When he finally broke his gaze, he tuned his back on them and disappeared, but in his place appeared a giant Jenova monster. It had odd wings going out it's sides and was skinny built. It looked around a moment, and then it's gaze landed on Ash, it did a very weird thing. It cast a cure3 on him, healing his gash, but not bringing him back to consciousness. Then it looked at the others and roared, stepping between Ash and the others.  
  
Everyone did a double tack, but weren't given time to think about it. The Jenova roared and sent laser beams at them, blasting all over. Lucky, no one was seriously hurt, and they began their own attack on the monster.  
  
Cloud started by using his Blade Beam, and Brock used his Titan Cats. Red was biting one of it's wings, Tifa and Misty were randomly pounding on it, trying to avoid its flailing. Aeries was continuously using her cure Materia. Finally, the Jenova gave final screech and melted into the ground.  
  
Everyone was huffing and puffing from exhaustion, but managed to get over to where Ash was lying unconscious on the ground. Each of them were wondering the same thing. Why did Jenova heal him? And why did it get into a position to protect him?  
  
They all decided that they would think about it later, there was no point about worrying about it now. They put Ash on one of the cots, and then waited until they got to land. There was a lot to think about.  
  
ooOOoo  
  
Ash woke up in a room he had never seen before. It was a well- furnished room, probably a hotel somewhere. He yawned, stood up, and stretched out his cramped limbs. Then he went out of the room, and saw Barret.  
  
"Hi. Hey where am I? And were the hell is everybody?" Ash asked.  
  
"We're at Costa Del Sol. Everyone but Red is at the beach right now. We had found Hojo here a while ago too. We found out from him that Sephiroth appears to be heading to Mt. Corel. Guess that now your up we'll be leaving soon."  
  
"Ok. Thanks."  
  
Ash went out of the hotel and took in the sights of the town. It was bright and sunny. Most people were in their swimming suits and were walking about in the sun. After a little exploring, he found the beach. The girls were working up their tans, and the boys were playing volleyball with some other people. Ash went up to Misty, who had fallen asleep while sunning herself and poked her shoulder. She mumbled a bit, then opened her eyes.  
  
"Ash! Your up! Took you long enough. You've been unconscious for three days!" Misty said, hugging Ash.  
  
"Umm, three days? Wow, I must have really hit my head." Ash said, then realized something. "Hey wait! What happened to Sephiroth! And how the hell am I not dead?"  
  
Misty told him what had happened on the boat, and Ash's eyes grew wider as she continued. Then all the others, who had realized that Ash was up, came over to help fill in the details.  
  
"So, you think I have some kind of connection with Jenova, on top of being an Ancient?" Ash said, both worried and confused. He had to many problems to deal with already; this wasn't helping improve matters at all.  
  
"Maybe. It was a little to weird for me." Tifa said.  
  
"Now we really need to find Sephiroth. We've wasted enough time here already. Let's head out to Mt. Corel before we lose any more time." Cloud said, and everyone readily agreed.  
  
Later that day, they were all ready to go. Ash, Cloud, Misty and Tifa went ahead of the others, and soon they were on their way to Mt. Corel. They passed through rugged terrain, and defeated many monsters on the way.  
  
Going through Mt. Corel, they passed rocky slops and crumbling railways, but still no sign of Sephiroth. On a bridge, they spotted the town of Corel up ahead.  
  
When they arrived, Barret and the others came soon after. The locals, when they saw Barret, came up to him, and one of them even hit him.  
  
"You've got a lot of balls coming back here." The one who punched him said.  
  
"Leave him. Maybe he'll go away then." Said another.  
  
The locals walked away, and Barret looked totally crestfallen. Everyone looked at him, silently asking for an explination.  
  
"My hometown used to be around here. It was a coal-mining town, but because of Mako, coal had become overrated. Shinra came one day, saying they would build a reactor. I was one of the people who agreed. Then, one day Shinra attacked, killing the people in the town. I've hated Shinra since then, but it looks like people here haven't forgiven me."  
  
"It'll be ok." Ash said, trying to cheer his friend up.  
  
"Alright. Now that I got that out of my system, let's go to the Gold Saucer. It's an amusement park around here. A train here can take up there." Barret said.  
  
Everyone cheered and followed Barret to an air train. They all boarded and it flew on a wire through the air. Half an hour later, it landed at this huge park in the air. Fireworks were constantly firing off and this guy in a chocobo suit was bouncing around at the entrance. They paid for their tickets, and went inside. They all knew something would happen here, but they didn't know what.  
  
Chapter 13: Blood in the Gold Saucer  
  
Ash was having a blast. The first place that he went was the arcade. There were tons of games there. A basketball game, an arm-wrestling game, you name it! His all time favorite there though was the snow boarding game. He even made the high score.  
  
Then he stopped by at the speed square. It was a ride that resembled a roller coaster, only on this one you had to shoot at these objects that came at you. He also got a high score on this, and one a replica of Sephiroth's Masamune.  
  
After he left the speed square, he went to the chocobo square were he watched the chocobo races and even bet on a few, although he didn't win, he still had fun watching. The fastest by far there was the black chocobo that was ridden by a brown skinned guy in this really big hat and a red jock suite on.  
  
Finally Ash decided to go to the battle square. He entered through the portal, and exited through the other end. His eyes widened when he took in what he saw. Two guys, with bullet holes everywhere on them, were at the bottom of the steps. At that very moment, Cloud, Tifa, and this Cat thing riding a huge stuffed mog came through another gate, and their eyes widened as well when they saw what he did.  
  
"Bullets?" Cloud asked, seeing how they died.  
  
"Come on! Let's see if everyone is alright in the battle square!" Ash said, running up the steps to the battle arena.  
  
Ash, Tifa, Cloud, and the creature known as Cait Sith ran up to the arena and shoved the doors aside, and came face to face with a nauseating sight. Blood was splattered everywhere, and bodies filled with bullet holes covered the floor. Tifa gasped and turned white, Ash turned a sickly shade of green, and Cloud's eyebrow wouldn't stop twitching.  
  
"We need to see if there is anyone still living." Cloud said and began to search the bodies for a pulse.  
  
The others agreed and followed suite. So far, everyone they had come across was dead, but then a moan got their attention. They ran over to the noise, and saw that the secretary was breathing.  
  
"Who did this?!" Cloud shouted to her.  
  
"A. A man. With a gun. On his arm." She chocked out and then died.  
  
"A man with a gun on his arm? Barret?!" Ash exclaimed in worry and panic.  
  
They all silently thought about it, but then troops ran into the room along with the owner of the amusement park, Dio.  
  
"Stop right there!" He shouted.  
  
Ash, Cloud, Tifa, and Cait Sith stood there for a moment, looked at each other, and bolted into the nearest room, which happened to be the arena, and that was a dead end.  
  
"Damn!" Cloud shouted as the captor bots moved in on them.  
  
"We didn't do it! You've made a mistake!" Ash shouted as the machines caught him and dragged him into another room.  
  
"Sorry, but the evidence is against you." Dio said as Ash and the others were brought down a hole.  
  
When they landed, they noticed that they were not in the gold saucer anymore. Instead, they were in a sandy area. Thugs and murderers were everywhere, and they stared at the newcomers.  
  
"Where are we?" Ash asked, brushing himself off.  
  
"Corel prison. The natural prison surrounded by quicksand." Said the voice of Barret.  
  
"Barret? What's going on? Did you really kill those people?" Tifa asked.  
  
"Follow me." Was all that Barret said.  
  
They slowly nodded and followed him through the dreary prison. Just looking around, Ash could see people mugging and killing one another and it sent shivers down his spine. He was thanking god that his weapon hadn't been taken from him or he would have been really worried.  
  
Barret led them to a small building, and they entered. Inside, Ash saw that everyone else was here too. Barret turned to them, and pointed his gun. Everyone paled. Then Barret fired his gun, and everyone closed his or her eyes. When it was finished, they all took note that they were still here, but then a thump from behind the couch signaled that a bandit had fallen.  
  
Everyone starred perplexed at Barret. Then Tifa spoke up.  
  
"Barret, what's happening? Were you the one who killed those people?"  
  
"No. You see, it was during when Shinra were here. I had a friend"  
  
Chapter 14: The Man with a Gun Arm  
  
Barret's memories  
  
We were best friend since we were little kids. When Shinra came about the Mako reactor, Dyne, my friend, was one of those who were against the building of the reactor. He believed that Corel was a mining town and should always stay so.  
  
Anyway, one day we were out of town, coming on our way back. We were going across the tracks when the village elder stumbled towards us screaming that Corel was under attack from the Shinra. Then the Shinra themselves came after us, killing the elder and coming after us. They fired on us; I lost my right arm, Dyne his left. I had a artificial arm for a while, but when I left town, I had a gun put in it's place. I also heard from the doctor that there was another man from the same town I was from that had the same thing done. That person was Dyne.  
  
I haven't seen him in a very long time, not since that day. He was always such a nice guy. I wonder why he is doing this. Sigh I have to find him guys and stop him. And I want no help from you. This is my problem.  
  
End  
  
Everyone had their full attention on Barret throughout the whole story, and nodded at his request. This was a thing that only Barret could do, and they respected that.  
  
"We're going to help you find him though." Ash pointed out, getting agreement from everyone.  
  
"I couldn't ask for anything more"  
  
ooOOoo  
  
They walked around the prison for a while, searching for any clues that could lead to Dyne. Finally, they got a tip from a bandit they beat the crap out of, and now they were in a junkyard of cars and other vehicles. Making their way through all the car parts, they came to a clearing near a trench, and standing near that trench was none other than Dyne himself.  
  
Barret held the others back, and he walked up to Dyne. Dyne seemed to take notice of him then, and gave him a creepy smile.  
  
"Hello Barret, long time no see."  
  
"Dyne! Why did you kill those people?"  
  
"Everyone needs to die. I'll kill them all, then, I'll kill myself."  
  
"You idiot! Why! Little Marlene doesn't need to deal with this! What about her?!"  
  
"Marlene is alive?"  
  
"Yeah! I've been taking care of her since Corel was destroyed!"  
  
"Hmmm. Eleanor. She's begging me not to hate you. Maybe she won't be so lonely if Marlene keeps her company."  
  
"You twisted bastard! You can't do that!"  
  
"Everyone will die sometime."  
  
With that, Dyne began to fire on Barret. He dodged, though the bullets nearly hit Brock and scared the shit out of him. Barret, left with no choice, also fired on Dyne, hitting him in the shoulder.  
  
Dyne stumbled, but managed to fire an S-mine attack, blasting Barret back a little. Barret fired again, and this time the bullet hit him in the stomach. Dyne chocked, and stumbled to a wall and lowered himself down.  
  
"Marlene won't even remember me. She's four isn't she? Probably looks like her mother too. Here." Dyne said, throwing Barret a necklace. "It was Eleanor's. Please give it to Marlene for me."  
  
Dyne stood up and stumbled over to the trench. He chuckled a little bit, and walked over to the edge.  
  
"Looks like this is goodbye" He said, then jumped into the trench.  
  
"DYNE! NO!" Barret shouted, but it was to late.  
  
Everyone went over to Barret to try and comfort him. It was hard losing a friend, and even harder the way he had lost him.  
  
"Come on Barret. We'd better go." Tifa said to her friend.  
  
Barret nodded slowly, and they headed back to the main prison area. They had a way to get out of Corel Prison and they were going to use it.  
  
They all walked to the building were a man named Mr. Coates was. According to what they hade heard from a bandit, if they got a manager, they could go into the chocobo races, and if they won, they would be freed.  
  
He was reluctant to let them participate at first, but when Barret showed him Eleanor's necklace, he called an odd lady named Ester to be the manager. In the end, it was Ash who was sent to do the races, while everyone else waited.  
  
They went up the elevator and ended up in a room filled with jocks. A bell rang, and everyone was left, leaving him alone for a while. Ash took this time to explore. He found an odd Materia in the corner of the room and equipped it, figuring that it could come in handy later.  
  
Ester reappeared a short while later, and they both went to the stables. Ash got on the chocobo that Ester had chosen for him, and soon he was off to the races.  
  
Three, Two, One, Go! Ash kept his chocobo at a steady pace as the other chocobos blasted ahead at their top speed. To most people, they would think that this was a stupid thing, but it was exactly what Ash wanted to do. He soon caught up with the others, who's chocobos were tiered, and at the end stretch of the race, Ash made his chocobo go at top speed, and taking first along with it.  
  
When he put his chocobo away, Ester met up with him. She handed him a litter from Dio, who apologized for the mistake and freed all his friends and also gave them a car that would not sink in quicksand and could cross shallow rivers for their trouble. After Ash said goodbye, he met up with his friends outside and got into the car. Cloud was driving. Soon they were off to a new destination, Gongaga.  
  
Chapter 15: Great Ninja Yuffie!  
  
The car that they were given from Dio was great. It was a lot faster than walking ever was and they met up with much less monsters too. On occasion, they encountered a monster that refused to leave them alone, but they were always easily dispatched by someone's Materia.  
  
Now they were traveling in the forests near Gonagaga. The trees were tall and shady, and an actual animal could be seen every few minutes, not just a monster.  
  
Inside the car, everyone was relaxing. Either eating, sleeping, or playing a game of cards. Cloud was still diving though, but Tifa would take over the wheel after a while.  
  
Suddenly, there was a loud THUD from the side of the buggy. Cloud smashed down on the breaks so fast everyone went flying from their seats.  
  
"What the hell was that for dumb ass!" Barret growled, rubbing his head that made contact with the wall.  
  
"Sorry, something hit the car. Anyone want to check it out and see what it was?" Cloud said.  
  
Everyone either looked at Cloud or Ash, and they both sighed defeated. Ash picked himself off the floor, and followed Cloud out the door.  
  
They looked around outside for a moment, then saw a girl with short black hair and a green belly shirt with tan shorts and this weird shield thing on her arm clutching her head.  
  
"Umm, excuse me, are you ok?" Ash asked, a little concerned.  
  
"NO! Your buggy just went through here and hit me! Do you think I'm ok?!" The girl shouted.  
  
"Er."  
  
"That's it! Your gonna get it now!" The girl yelled and threw her giant shuriken at Ash, nearly taking his head off.  
  
"Hey!" Ash yelled, dodging another blow and grabbing his Materia. He didn't really want to hurt this person, and his blade would surly do that.  
  
Apparently, Cloud also had this in mind. He also got out his Materia, and they both cast a double bolt. The girl was sent flying into a tree at the electric shock. Sighing, they were just about to leave, but then the girl called to them.  
  
"You spiky-headed jerks! One more time, let's go one more time!"  
  
Ash sighed and answered "Not interested"  
  
The girl brought herself up and gave them a cocky smile.  
  
"Your pretty scared of me, huh!?"  
  
"Petrified" Answered Cloud, his voice dripping with sarcasm.  
  
She humphed and turned around and began walking in the opposite direction, but then turned around and faced them.  
  
"I'm really going to leave! REALLY!" She shouted.  
  
"Wait a second!" Ash yelled back.  
  
The girl stood there for a moment, then said.  
  
"You want me to go with you?" she asked.  
  
"Umm, that's right." Ash replied  
  
"All right! I'll go with you!" She said excitedly.  
  
"Let's hurry on." Cloud sighed and they all went back to the buggy.  
  
When they got back to the buggy, everyone surrounded them wanting to know whom the new person was.  
  
"I'm the great ninja Yuffie!" She said to them, getting into a victory pose, making everyone sweatdrop.  
  
"Well, alright Yuffie, but do you realize what you are getting into by coming with us?" Tifa asked.  
  
"No, what?" Yuffie said, grabbing a doughnut.  
  
Tifa went into the story of what had happened to them and what they were doing now. The further she got into the story, the more exited Yuffie became.  
  
"I knew it was a good idea to come with you! I've always wanted to go on an adventure, and yours is one of the most exiting I've ever heard!" Yuffie exclaimed.  
  
Everyone sighed and watched as one single teenager devoured all of their food. It appeared that the needed to get to Gongaga faster than they had originally planned.  
  
Chapter 16: Gong a Gongaga  
  
Ash was awed. Never before had he ever seen anyone totally clean out an entire fridge and pantry and have nothing to show about it. Well, accept for himself anyway, but that didn't count. Then to make it even more weird, the moment she finished, she literally belched, and went and took a nap. 30 minutes later she came back and was wondering what was for lunch.  
  
"Ok, tell me again. Why is she coming with us?" Misty asked Ash as they tried to scrounge around for food.  
  
Ash moved items away from under the sink. He had a secret stash of potato chips and candy bars under there. Seeing his prize, he grabbed a large bag of sour cream and onion and a dozen Milky Way bars.  
  
Ash took his prizes out, and was about to hand them out to everyone when Yuffie came back into the room. She beamed and took the food.  
  
"Oh! Lunch!" She said and took the junk food into the back of the buggy and began eating it at record-breaking speed.  
  
"I give up!" Ash said throwing his hands in the air in defeat.  
  
Suddenly Cloud's voice was heard in the speakers.  
  
"Alright people, we're now at Gongaga."  
  
Everyone was sending silent thank you s to whatever celestial being had taken pity on them right then. They ran out of the vehicle, and began the trek up to Gongaga, but had to stop when they heard familiar voices.  
  
"Ok, who do you think is the cutest?" Came the voice of Reno of the Turks.  
  
"...Tifa." Replied Rude's voice. "You?"  
  
"Aeries." Reno said. "Although that Misty girl is pretty hot too."  
  
Meanwhile, a little ways from them, three girls were blushing an embarrassed bright pink and three guys looked like they were about to murder someone, or had already done so but were still mad.  
  
"They do this all the time. Stupid guys." Huffed the voice of Elena in back of them. "Hey, wait."  
  
Elena ran past them to Reno and Rude and began pointing to Ash and the others.  
  
"Their here their here!" Elena shouted.  
  
"I may always wear shades Elena, but I can see." Rude replied calmly.  
  
"Oh, sorry." Elena apologized. "I'll inform Shinra!" and she ran through the bushes to some unknown destination.  
  
Reno and Rude sweatdropped.  
  
"How did she ever get promoted to Turk?" Reno asked shaking his head and pointing his night stick at everyone. "Let's get this show on the road."  
  
Reno shot his electro-rod, blasting it towards Yuffie, but she back flipped away and glowed red.  
  
"Greased Lightning!" She shouted and ran up to Reno at amazing speed and slashed down on him with her shuriken, going so fast it looked like a bolt. Reno stumbled back, holding on to the gash in his left shoulder.  
  
Yuffie was so occupied with Reno she failed to see Rude charge at her until it was to last. With amazing strength, he punched her sending her flying into a tree unconscious.  
  
Meanwhile, everyone else had joined the fight, and the Turks were getting the crap beat out of them, while they were receiving little damage. Finally, when the Turks realized that they were going to lose, they fled the scene; right to were Elena had fled.  
Everyone brushed himself or herself off. Aeries revived Yuffie, and she was cursing Rude to the 7th layer of hell. Organizing themselves again, they continued their trek to Gongaga, but accidentally took a wrong turn, compliments to Ash.  
  
They ended up in a place that looked like a ruined reactor. While searching around, Brock found a neat red Materia and equipped it. They were all about to leave, when they heard the sound of a helicopter approach. They hid behind a pile of junk and waited.  
  
The helicopter landed, and a woman in a scarlet dress that they had seen from the Shinra HQ came out. She searched around the junk for a while, then stomped her foot on the ground.  
  
"Nothing here but worthless Materia. Junk reactor, junk Materia. I'm after the big, shiny, huge Materia!" She shouted to no one and got back into the helicopter and flew off.  
  
"First the Turks know where we are, then she shows up. You don't think there is a spy in our group do you?" Ash asked Cloud.  
  
"I don't even want to think about something like that." Cloud replied as they continued toward Gongaga.  
  
On the way, Ash found another Materia, the deathblow Materia, and equipped it. Cloud told him it was a very handy Materia and could save his life if he used it right. That brought Ash's mood back up.  
  
When they got to Gongaga, they were a little disturbed at what they saw. Near the entrance to the village was a huge graveyard. According to the villagers that they had talked to, the pile of junk they were at used to be a reactor that exploded, taking many of the villagers lives with it. Aeries also stopped at her first boyfriend's house, Zack, and learned that they had not seen him since he left to join SOLDIER.  
  
The next place they went was the grocery store and stocked up on potions and food, and Misty literally had to pound it into Yuffie's head that she could not eat up all the food.  
  
When they were all finished packing, they went back to the buggy and put all the food away, though Yuffie snuck in a bag of potato chips. Now they are off again. To where? Wherever lady luck brings them. So more then likely into some life threatening danger.  
  
Chapter 17: Story of Cosmo Canyon  
  
The buggy roared through the canyon walls, echoing off them and making it even louder. For the past half an hour, the buggy had been making funny noises, worrying everyone inside. They could all swear to god it was going to blow up with them in it.  
  
Finally with one last shudder and boom, the buggy broke down. Cloud went out to try and fix it, and another explosion sounded. Moments later, Cloud came back in with a black face and his hair now pointed backwards.  
  
"You look like an idiot Cloud." Cait Sith said, both the mog and the cat face holding back laughter.  
  
Unfortunately for him, the others could not hold it in, and they burst out laughing as Cloud grumbled and went into the shower.  
  
An hour later, they were all walking outside in the canyon sun. While everyone was sweating and burning, Red calmly kept on padding along. Noting his companion's distress, he said,  
  
"The village of Cosmo Canyon is not far off." And then he pointed straight ahead.  
  
They all looked up ahead, and sure enough a village could be seen. Ash sighed with relief. He wasn't really enjoying walking around in this hot weather.  
  
When they reached the village, the guard at the entrance didn't let them in at first, but when he saw Red, his mood changed entirely.  
  
"Nanaki! You're back! Did these people take care of you while you were gone?" The man asked.  
  
"They are my friends. Please let them come." Red asked.  
  
"Of course Nanaki!" The guard said and let them pass into the village.  
  
Inside, they all split up. The first place Ash went was the weapon shop, were he got a better katana, the Spirit. Then he started checking out rooms, and one of them he found Barret in.  
  
"What are you doing?" Ash asked.  
  
Barret sighed and rubbed his temples.  
  
"I had promised the members of AVALANCHE that I would bring them here after the mess with Shinra was over. You see, this place is famous for it's knowledge and planetarium."  
  
"Oh, sorry to hear that." Ash said quietly.  
  
"That's ok. You continue your exploring"  
  
Ash nodded and left. He met up with Misty, Cloud, Tifa, Red, and Aeries, and they climbed up to a strange observatory on top of the canyon. Red was the first to go in, followed be the others.  
  
Inside, was a strange old man. He wore a blue coat and a yellow shirt, and was floating on a green orb.  
  
"Ho Ho Ho! Nanaki! Looks like you brought some friends! Are they here to see the planetarium?"  
  
"Yes grandpa." Red replied.  
  
"Then follow me." He said.  
  
They all followed him to a strange room. He made them stand in the center, and then he pushed a button. The room got dark, and the floor from under them rose. The walls around them seemed to come alive. Comets buzzed by and the stars shone as brightly as the real night's sky.  
  
"Now, everyone knows what the lifestream if right? The energy of all living things. Moving souls, formed together into one. The lifestream is what makes planets, planets. Without it, the world would crumble and die." Bugenhagen, the old man, said.  
  
In front of them was a model of the planet. Green energy swirled through it giving it a mesmerizing glow, but Bugenhagen reached out his hand and sucked out the green light, and within seconds the globe cracked and crumpled, turned black and disintegrated.  
  
"So, this is why we need to stop the Shinra, to save the planet." Ash said quietly.  
  
"Ho Ho Ho! The planet is already dieing. It could take a day, a year, 100 years or a millennium, but it is still happening." The old man replied to Ash's quiet question.  
  
"What if we could stop it grandpa? Ash and Aeries are ancients, maybe they could help!" Red shouted.  
  
"Really now? That is interesting. I'm not sure if it would do any good, but it never hurts to try." Bugenhagen responded, turning the lights back on and having the elevator go down. "Why don't you discuss this at the candle? Then do what you think is best."  
  
Red nodded, and led the others back outside to a huge fire. Everyone else was there already so they just sat down next to them.  
  
"So Red. Can you tell us a little about yourself and Cosmo Canyon?" Cait Sith asked.  
  
Red sighed and repositioned himself. He starred into the fire, remembering past memories, slowly closing his eyes then just as slowly reopening them.  
  
"A long time ago, Cosmo Canyon was under attack by a tribe called the Gi. They had managed to get here through the cave system that led to the village. While my cowardly father Sato fled, my mother fought bravely and lost her life in the process. I've been the guardian of the canyon since. I only wish my father hadn't been such a coward and abandoned my mother and me." Red said.  
  
Bugenhagen had heard everything that Red had said, and went up behind him.  
  
"Is that what you really think about you father?" He asked.  
  
"What else is there?" Red yelled.  
  
"You and a few of your friends follow me than." He said.  
  
Red, Ash, Cloud, Cait Sith, and Brock followed Bugenhagen while the others were told to stay in the canyon. They followed him to a sealed door.  
  
"This door was sealed when a warrior decided to try and take on the Gi alone. He told me to seal the door behind his so no more Gi could enter." Bugenhagen said.  
  
"Who was the warrior?" Red asked.  
  
"Ho Ho Ho! Follow me and find out." He answered, unlocking the door.  
  
Everyone went in, and they went down a rope that led deep into the earth. The temperature dropped considerably and Ash could see his breath in front of him. When he got to the bottom, he rubbed his sore hands for what little warmth it could offer.  
  
"The ghosts of the Gi are still around here. Tormented by the brave warrior who slew them protecting his village." Bugenhagen said.  
  
"Grandpa?" Red questioned.  
  
"Come. We should not stay down here any longer than needed." He said before Red could ask.  
  
He nodded slowly, and they all quickly walked through the caves.  
  
Chapter 18: Son of Sato.  
  
The group crept through the winding caves. Ghosts of the Gi would appear every once in a while, and Ash was glad Misty decided not to come, or she would have been screaming every few minutes.  
  
Ash was a little confused. They had entered a room where there was lava beneath him, and he was still freezing his ass off. They stopped for a moment, and Bugenhagen talked to them again.  
  
"The warrior went through these caves, determined to stop the Gi from taking over. It didn't matter what happened to him, as long as the villagers survived. He went all the way through the caves, and challenged the head Gi himself."  
  
"Grandpa, who is it?" Red begged.  
  
"We are almost there, let's continue."  
  
Bugenhagen, Red, Ash, Cloud, Cait Sith, and Brock continued, and soon they came to a room that split up into sections. The first couple they tried were dead ends, and they had to retrace their steps back to the previous room. Then, when they thought they got the right pathway, Brock called out to them.  
  
"Guys! I think I'm stuck, could you lend me a hand?"  
  
"Sure." Ash said and went over to help his friend. Right before he got to him though, his hand touched something sticky and wouldn't come off. "What the hell?" Ash yelped, realizing what it was, a spider web.  
  
"Ash, you ok?" Cait Sith called, doing that hop-walk to him.  
  
"No, there's a spider web here. Can you help us out?" Ash asked.  
  
Cait Sith nodded, and was about to laser the web away, but something smashed into his side. Everyone looked to see what it was, and there, stood the biggest, nastiest, Michel Jackson butt ugliness spider any of them had ever seen. (Oh the horror!)  
  
"AAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Brock shouted, struggling to get free.  
  
"Oh my god. If pikachu looked like that, I'd shave his butt and make him walk backwards!" Ash yelled, getting a weird look from everyone.  
  
The really ugly spider hissed at the comment, and launched itself at him. Ash closed his eyes, expecting to get impaled or something, but it never came. Cautiously he re opened his eyes and saw Cait Sith, Cloud, and Red hacking away at it, finally killing it.  
  
After the fight, Cait Sith used his laser to free Ash and Brock. Ash brushed all the dust and god only knows what else off him, and they continued up the cave into another room, were there was a weird stone goblin face.  
  
"We are almost there Nanaki, only a little further." Bugenhagen said.  
  
"Hmmm."  
  
Suddenly, the ground shook and there was a growling noise. The goblin face moved, and in it's place was the ghost of the Gi leader and two flames. The leader's spear that was in it's bony hands came crashing down on the group. They all quickly jumped away and took out their weapons, Ash transforming mid-jump.  
  
"Oh this just gets better and better!" Ash yelled sarcastically, getting burnt by one of the flames fire2. "Damn, pesky little bastards."  
  
Ash hovered in the air for a moment, waiting until everyone else was out of the way, then he glowed red. "Planet's Fury!" He shouted and turned his blade in the air, making a ring of light. The ring became a dimensional hole, and a blast of Mako energy fired down on the Gi Nattak and Soul fires, making them lost in it's depths.  
  
They all healed each other, since they had received some injury or another, and then continued to follow Bugenhagen. They ended up outside. The moon glowing an eerie orange over the canyon. Up on the cliff, a stone figure could be made out. The figure looked strangely like Red.  
  
"Look Nanaki, look at your father, at the warrior Seto. When the Gi were attacking, he alone went to challenge them, and even though the Gi's petrified spears turned him to stone, he still guards the canyon." Bugenhagen told Red.  
  
Red stared at his stone father for a moment, then looked like the others. He stood up on his paws proudly.  
  
"I am the son of the warrior Seto! I will defend the canyon like he did and I will help save the planet along with my friends!" Red shouted.  
  
From above, silver tears came down onto the ground below. Ash looked up to their source, and was surprised to see that they were from the petrified Seto.  
  
"Tears? From stone?"  
  
Red noticed this too, and jumped up onto the cliff by his father. He looked at the orange glowing moon, and howled into the night.  
  
ooOOoo  
  
Everyone prepared to leave town. They all figured since Red was going to be the guardian of Cosmo Canyon, that he would stay here. Right when they were going down the stairs, a bark made them turn around.  
  
"Red?" Tifa said.  
  
"You weren't thinking of leaving me were you?" Red said with a cocky smile.  
  
Ash laughed and shook his head and headed back to the buggy, which Bugenhagen had repaired. They all went inside, and Cloud prepared to start the engine.  
  
"Come on baby, don't let us down" Cloud mumbled and turned the keys and punched the gas. The roar of the engine signaled it was working. "And we have lift off!"  
  
Chapter 19: Vampire of Nibelheim Mansion  
  
Everyone stood in the middle of a quite town. Ash leaned against a large well and took in his surroundings. Houses formed in a circle around the well, and to the north of town was an old mansion that looked like something from the shinning. Next to the mansion was a curvy road that led to the mountains.  
  
"Cloud, I thought you said this place was destroyed? It looks fine to me." Ash said, looking at his spiky-haired friend.  
  
"I-It was. I remember the heat of the flames and the screams from the townsfolk. This place should not be here." Cloud said shakily.  
  
Everyone but Tifa eyed him warily. Cloud sighed.  
  
"Come on, let's figure out what is going on." He said.  
  
They all agreed and began to search the town. Something was very off. No one seemed to remember anything happening in the town, and strange men in black capes sluggishly moved about. Even in Cloud's own home, the same story continued. The lady in the home even said that his mother had never lived there. It was very disturbing.  
  
Now they were standing by the gates to the Mansion. Just being this close to it sent shivers down their spines.  
  
"Well, I'm going in. Anyone else?" Cloud asked.  
  
"I will I guess." Ash said.  
  
"Me too." Said Tifa. "The rest of you stay here"  
  
They didn't need to be told twice. The quickly agreed and waved as Cloud, Ash, and Tifa went into the mansion, sweatdropping at their antics.  
  
The inside of the mansion was dark, cold, and clammy. The only light in the building was the soft light coming through the dusty windows. They searched through the rooms and came across a strange vault. Using numbers that they had found in their search, Ash used them on the vault. It swung open, but before they could see what was inside, there was a rumble coming from the back of them. They turned around, and there stood a large monster. Half of it magically red, the other, purple for physical strength.  
  
"Oh Shit!" Ash yelled as they all dodged a bolt2.  
  
Ash transformed and took to the air to avoid a quake2, although Cloud and Tifa were swung back. When they got back up, Tifa glowed red and assaulted Lost Number with her beat rush. Punching it then back flipping it, the smashing it with her water kick and Meteor dive.  
  
The monster gurgled and lost it's red side, now leaving a whole purple monster. It roared and swiped at Ash in the air, finally getting a successful hit and sending him flying into a wall. Cloud cursed and attacked the monster, but it did little damage.  
  
Ash shakily got up and took out the red Materia he had found. The room got even darker than it was before, and lightning appeared out of nowhere. The shape of an old man with a staff could be vaguely seen through the darkness. He lifted his staff, drawing the lightning. When the staff was charged, he fired it at Lost Number, and then he disappeared, along with the monster.  
  
The room went back to it's normal dreary self. Ash put the Materia away and went back to the vault. Inside was a key and another red Materia that Ash equipped.  
  
"What do we do with this?" Ash asked, pointing to the key.  
  
"Hmmm. I think I know where that goes. Follow me." Cloud said, exiting the room.  
  
Tifa and Ash nodded, and they followed him through the hallways to another room. Cloud went up to a stonewall and touched an oddly colored brick. Seconds later the wall moved away, revealing a spiraling staircase going downward.  
  
They went down the stairs, and emerged in a dark hallway that had the occasional bone of a monster or a human here or there. Cloud went down the hallway and stopped in front of a door. He placed the key inside and turned the doorknob. They stepped inside, and the first thing they saw was a coffin in the middle of the room.  
  
"Your not really going to move that, are you?" Tifa asked to Cloud.  
  
"Why not?" Cloud shrugged and went up to the coffin. He put his hands on the lid and pushed it off, making a bang as it hit the ground.  
  
Everyone peered inside, and got a shock at what they saw. Inside was a man with long black hair, he had black clothes on with a blood red cape, and one of his hands was a golden claw. Then they got an even bigger surprise. His eyes opened, revealing them to be a blood red color like when Ash transformed.  
  
"AAAAHHHH! Vampire!" Ash shouted, scaring the hell out of Tifa and Cloud.  
  
The man in the coffin stared at Ash, then sat up and looked around.  
  
"Why did you come here? This is my punishment. Why don't you leave me alone to think of my sins?" The vampire-like guy asked.  
  
"Punishment? Sins? Damn, are you a pessimist to the extreme or what!" Ash joked.  
  
The guy cocked an eyebrow up.  
  
"Hojo has made me a monster for my sins. And here I will stay to think of them."  
  
"What kind of monster?" Tifa asked.  
  
Vampire man looked at her and sighed, then began to glow. He then began to change, and when the light ended, where he was before, a black demon with huge red wings now stood. He stayed that way for a while then changed back.  
  
"See? This is my punishment." He said sadly.  
  
"That was cool! Do it again!" Ash said, but received a smack on the head by both Tifa and Cloud.  
  
"Why don't you come with us, maybe we can help. We're trying to stop the Shinra from destroying the planet and we are also after a man named Sephiroth." Tifa said.  
  
"I don't think you could understand my problem."  
  
"I wouldn't say that. I think I can relate." Ash said, transforming to show him.  
  
There was silence for a while. The spooky guy seemed to be thinking things through, Ash fiddled with his wings a bit, and Tifa and Cloud just waited. Finally the guy sighed.  
  
"Alright, I'll come with you. My name is Vincent."  
  
"Alright!" Ash said.  
  
Tifa bopped him on the head again. Vincent got out of the coffin entirely, and they walked out of the room. They walked down the rest of the hallway to another room and walked in, and were greeted by the last person they expected. There, in the room, was Sephiroth. He looked at the group.  
  
"Are you going to the Jenova reunion Cloud? No, you do not deserve to go. Your friend there deserves to go more than you." He said.  
  
"What the hell are you talking about?!" Cloud shouted.  
  
"Why don't you go to Mt. Nibel?" Sephiroth said and through a Materia orb at him, then disappeared.  
  
"That was weird." Ash said.  
  
"What do you think he meant Cloud?" Tifa asked.  
  
"I really don't know Tiff, I really don't know."  
  
ooOOoo  
  
When they were out of the mansion, they met up with their friends again and explained what happened. They all agreed to check out Mt. Nibel, and were heading up the steep mountain, going through the twisted and turning paths, avoiding monsters, and admiring the glowing rocks, the entire time trying to figure out what Sephiroth had meant.  
  
Chapter 20: Journey through Mt. Nibel  
  
The air was damned cold, and the fog that creped around the oddly pointed rocks of Mt. Nibel didn't make it any better. Ash sneezed for the fourth time and cursed. He really hopped that he wasn't coming down with a cold. The others weren't faring any better. The only one that seemed unaffected by the temperature change was Vincent. He just kept up that totally silent walk through the mountains. If Ash didn't know he was there, he would have figured there was nothing there.  
  
"Gotta have him show me how he does that." Ash said to himself, sneezing again.  
  
They continued their walk through the mountains, and finally came to an old, flimsy bridge. They looked at one another, just daring for them to go first. Finally, after much debate, (More like pointed fingers) it was decided that Cloud would go first.  
  
"Oh what great friends I have. Lets use Cloud as the test dummy! He won't mind! His hair can be used as rock climbing tools!" Cloud said sarcastically, mimicking what the others had said to him while he crossed the bridge.  
  
When he got to the other side, he waved to signal that he made it past alive. With that, Tifa went next, then Cait Sith, Barret, Red, Aeries, Vincent, Yuffie, and then Brock. Finally it was Misty's turn and she slowly crept past the bridge. When she was almost on the other side though, the bridge's rope snapped, and Misty fell off.  
  
"Misty!" Ash shouted and jumped off the cliff, transforming on the way down. Ash reached to her, and the moment before she touched the ground, he caught her hand.  
  
Misty was white and very shaken, and kept mumbling about how she was never going on bridges again. Ash sighed and scooped her up and brought her to the other side of the cliff where everyone else was. He set her down on the ground.  
  
"Misty, I insist you stay away from those custard pastries." Ash said, rubbing his sore arms.  
  
Misty turned white to red in a matter of seconds, took out her mallet, and bashed Ash in the head with it. Ash stumbled back and now rubbed that bump on his head. He shook his head, trying to clear all the black dots in his vision, and gave the death glare to everyone who was laughing.  
  
When they reorganized themselves, the continued through the mountain. The next place they went was a part of the cave that was full of junk, though there were ladders leading up and down in places. Going down one of these ladders, they went into another room that led to more caves.  
  
They explored for a while, finding the old Mako fountain that had been there so long ago, and they even found the old reactor, but after some careful searching, they discovered that there was nothing there, much to the disappointment of everyone.  
  
When they went into another cave, it led back to the junky area. They searched for a moment, and saw the cave exit, but a huge, blue, scorpion- like monster guarded it. After a quick vote, it was decided that they would take on the creature to get through.  
  
The creature saw them approach, and let out a screeching noise that would make banshees cry. Then the monster, Materia Keeper, came at them with it's claws and dug into the earth in front of them. They jumped away, and Brock took out the red Materia he found.  
  
Suddenly, Titan, protector and manipulator of earth appeared in front of Materia Keeper. He dug his hands into the earth, and lifted up the slab of earth under the monster, then flipped it backwards, before disappearing like he was never there.  
  
Materia Keeper screeched again, and pulled itself out of the rubble. It made a triangle with it's claws, and a triangle blast of light fired at them. It hit everyone, and sent him or her flying back.  
  
Vincent was the first to recover from the attack, and began to glow. When the glowy was over, where he once stood, Chaos, his monster form, growled. He charged at Materia Keeper, and with his razor sharp claws, began to hack away at the monster, until it was no more than pieces of blue blobs on the ground. When that was done, he changed back, and then used Cure2 on everyone.  
  
"That, was the most disgusting scene I have ever seen." Yuffie said when they all got up.  
  
"That was cool!" Ash shouted.  
  
Everyone looked at him, and then smacked him on the head.  
  
"Ouwie." Ash mumbled, rubbing his head with now multiple bumps on it.  
  
"Come on, let's go." Cloud sighed, going out the exit.  
  
Everyone followed him, thanking everything good that they were out of the freezing hellhole, which is the Nibel Mountians.  
  
ooOOoo  
  
They spent the next couple of days camping out in the wilderness. Everyone missed the luxury of the buggy, but it couldn't be helped. When they got to the nearest town, they were amazed. Right in the middle of town was a huge rocket. It leaned to it's side, and was green with age, but it was still there, and it was an amazing sight.  
  
"Welcome to Rocket Town." A townsperson said to them.  
  
Chapter 21: Blast off in Rocket Town  
  
Overall the town wasn't very big. There was a house here and there, a few shops, but that was it. The main attraction was the rocket itself. After hearing one to many people mention this 'Captain' guy, they decided to go to his house.  
  
Tifa rang the doorbell, and a few seconds latter a sciency woman answered the door.  
  
"Oh, hello. Are you here to see the captain? He's not here right now, but he should be at the rocket." She said.  
  
"Ok, thanks." Tifa said, and then noticed something in the back yard. "What's that?" she said, pointing to a pink and blue plane.  
  
"That's the Tiny Bronco. The captain's been fixing it up for a while. If you want to use it, you have to ask him." Shera, the sciency lady replied.  
  
"Ok. Bye for now." Tifa replied.  
  
They left the town and headed up to the rocket. Ash and Cloud went all the way up the rocket, while the others stayed at ground level. Reaching the top, they went through the door and saw a dusty blonde man in a pilot uniform and a cigarette in his mouth. (I hate those things. Smell like shit to me, but that's my opinion)  
  
"Hi." Ash said. "Are you the captain?"  
  
"Yes. Everyone calls me captain, but the name's Cid." Cid said.  
  
"Is this your rocket? It's really cool." Ash said, taking in all the sights.  
  
"Yep. The Shinra 26. Hopefully when the president come, I can get this baby refinanced, and then to Outer Space!" Cid yelled excitedly. "So, what you come down here for?"  
  
"We were wondering if we could borrow the Tiny Bronco." Cloud said.  
  
"What?! No! I worked hard on that! I'm not just going to let people come here and borrow it!" Cid shouted.  
  
"Alright. Thank anyway." Ash said and they exited the rocket.  
  
Ash and Cloud went back to Cid's house, where everyone else said that they were going to meet up with them. They rang the doorbell, and Shera answered it, letting them inside. Ash sat down in one of the empty chairs, and leaned against the wall.  
  
"Your just in time guys! Shera was just about to tell us about the rocket." Misty said. "So you were saying Shera?"  
  
"Right, anyway, the rocket was financed by Shinra. Cid, along with his crew were to be the first men in space. During countdown, I was still checking up on the tanks. I told him to just go ahead with the launch, but in the end, he aborted the mission. Since Mako power became more popular, the rocket was never fixed, and so it just stayed there, aging. Now the president is coming, and Cid is hopping he will refinance the rocket."  
  
"But the Shinra are stupid ass bastards. I highly doubt they will fix the rocket." Barret said.  
  
"Maybe." Shera said.  
  
Just then, Cid barged through the door and noticed everyone in there.  
  
"Shera you dumb ass! Don't you see we have guests? Make some tea! God!" Cid said, sitting at the table.  
  
Shera served the tea, and then there was a commotion from outside.  
  
"Looks like the president is finally here!" Cid said, then went outside.  
  
Ash was curious as to what was going on, so he snuck out and listened to what they were saying.  
  
"So, are you going to fix the rocket?" Cid asked to the president.  
  
"No. We would like to take the Tiny Bronco and search out a man." Rufus said.  
  
"What?! You've already taken my Highwind! Leave the Tiny Bronco alone!" Cid yelled.  
  
Ash went back into the house and told them what he had heard.  
  
"Take the Bronco. Palmer is already out there trying to steal it." Shera said.  
  
They nodded and went outside. Big fat ass Palmer had already started the engine, but Tifa lept up and punched him out of the cockpit. Palmer rolled onto the ground, and looked like a turtle trying to get up when it rolled on it's back. When he did get up though, he aimed his Mako gun at Tifa, firing a bolt2 at her, electrifying her. Misty went up to help her friend, and slammed her mallet hard where the sun doesn't shine.  
  
All the guys flinched.  
  
Palmer stumbled back, nearly hitting his head on the plane's propeller, but ducked just in time. Then he turned around and made a face at them, doing 'Nya Nya' at them and continued running.  
  
Suddenly and ironically out of nowhere, a semi truck appeared and crashed into Palmer, sending him flying into orbit. Everyone sweatdropped at the sight, then jumped onto the out of control plane.  
  
The Tiny Bronco took to the air and flew over Rocket Town. Cid, who had seen this, grabbed onto the wing of the plane when it got low enough. The Shinra troops fired on the plane, hitting one of the propellers and sending it even more out of control.  
  
"We're gonna crash damn it!" Cid yelled as the water of the ocean they were over got closer and closer.  
  
Finally they slammed into the water. Ash, who had a crappy grip on the wing he was holding on to, flew through the air and into the water a little ways away. He came back to the floating plane dripping wet and shivering.  
  
"Damn the w-waters c-cold!" He said through chattering teeth.  
  
Everyone rolled his or her eyes at him.  
  
"Well, now what are you going to do Cid? You won't get any help from the Shinra now." Cloud said.  
  
"Skrew those Shinra son of a bitches. I'm going to get my revenge on them. Took away my Highwind, my rocket, tried to take the Tiny Bronco, they are going to pay!" Cid shouted.  
  
"Then why not come with us? Each of us has a score to settle with the Shinra, and we are also after a man named Sephiroth who has murdered many innocent lives." Cloud asked.  
  
Cid stood up and pointed his spear in the air, scaring the hell out of everyone because it rocked the plane.  
  
"Alright! I'll go with you. I'm one pissed off pilot and I'm seeking revenge!" Cid shouted to the world.  
  
"That's great and all Cid," Ash said, "but how the hell do we get out of here?"  
  
Chapter 22: Ash's Heritage  
  
"Are we there yet?" Asked a sea sick Yuffie.  
  
"No" Cid replied.  
  
"Now?"  
  
"No"  
  
"NOW?"  
  
"Damn it will you just shut up?!"  
  
After the Tiny Bronco had crashed into the ocean, they had been using the still working propellers to slowly move to land. Now they saw land ahead, and were slowly moving towards it.  
  
Two long, miserable hours later, they finally came onto the shore. It was night, and they set up camp near the edge of a forest.  
  
"Yo Ash! Ain't it your turn ta get the firewood?" Cait Sith said.  
  
"Awe man, seems like I just got it the other day!" Ash whined.  
  
"That was two and a half weeks ago Ash" Brock replied, getting out the cookware.  
  
"Oh fine. Be that way." Ash grumbled and went into the woods.  
  
Ash walked around, picking up the occasional dry branch. It was unusually dark out that night, even though the crescent moon seemed to shine brightly.  
  
Suddenly Ash heard a twig snap from behind him. He spun around, and peered into the inky blackness. Nothing moved. He stepped backwards, and then heard something move from behind him again. Ash turned again, officially panicked.  
  
All of a sudden something flew through the air at him so fast, he had no time to dodge it. The object went through his left shoulder blade. Through blurring vision, Ash saw that it was a poison blade. Ash clutched the blade and forcefully pulled it out.  
  
The thing that had shot the blade came out of the woods. It was a large, dog-like creature with growing red eyes and spikes all over it's body. It howled and ran at Ash.  
  
Ash took out the Spirit, and held it shakily in his hands. He slashed at the beast, cutting it's side, but Ash also got clawed in the leg.  
  
"Damn bastard!" Ash shouted and took out his new red Materia.  
  
The Materia glowed in his hands, and a black dimensional hole appeared. A horned knight riding a six-legged horse charged at the beast, his blade gleamed evilly as it cut the beast in half, and then disappeared.  
  
With Odin gone, Ash fell to the ground. The last thing he remembered before he passed out was the sound of feathers beating against the wind and the feel of feathers on his face.  
  
ooOOoo  
  
Ash groaned and opened his eyes. He sat up and looked around. He felt like shit. Shakily getting up, he balanced himself on a tree. Suddenly he heard the beating of wings and looked up.  
  
Up ahead, a black, phoenix-like bird the size of a hawk flew down to Ash. Ash stared into it's green glowing eyes.  
  
"What are you?" Ash asked to himself.  
  
/I am a dark phoenix, sent to be your guardian like my father was to yours. /  
  
"What? My father?! You know about my father? Is he here? Is he alive?" Ash shouted to the bird.  
  
The dark phoenix shook it's head.  
  
/No, your father and mine were slain long ago by a man with silver hair. /  
  
"Did this man have a blade like mine?" Ash asked, showing the bird the Spirit.  
  
The dark phoenix nodded.  
  
/Yes. It was 5 years ago. Your father was in Nibelheim at the time. He had heard a humor of another Jenova and went to investigate, but before he could, a man claiming that the Jenova there was his mother slew him. They tried to stop him, and ended up dieing in the process. /  
  
"Hey. Hold it! Stop and rewind! ANOTHER Jenova? It's not just a name?"  
  
/No. Jenova is a name of a powerful race that existed the same time as the Ancients, but they went to war with each other, wiping the races almost entirely out. The Jenova that Sephiroth said was his mother and your father were the only ones left. /  
  
"So, I'm a Jenova too?"  
  
/Half, but yes, you are. You are the first Jenova/Cetra in about 6,500 years. You are very powerful, since you have the powers of both races, but you still must be careful, if I had not arrived in time, that poison may have taken your life right then/  
  
"Oh. Thank you. Man this is weird though."  
  
/Your welcome. Now, don't you have friends to go back to? /  
  
"Oh shit! Your right! Are you coming?"  
  
/Of course. It is my duty to protect you/  
  
"Well, alright. What is your name?"  
  
/I am called Shadow/  
  
"Ok shadow, let's go!"  
  
Ash picked up his dropped branches, and retraced his footsteps, Shadow perched on his shoulder. When he got back to camp, everyone kept on asking him what the hell happened to him and who the bird was. He spent the next hour retelling them what happened.  
  
When he was finally finished, everyone looked at him a little weird. It made him feel very uncomfortable.  
  
"Oh come on guys! Don't look at me like that! Now I have even more of a reason to go after Sephiroth. Its not like I'm going to turn on you!" Ash shouted.  
  
"Sorry. Its just a little weird." Cloud said.  
  
Everyone seemed to get out of his or her weird mood then. They all set up their sleeping bags and said good night to each other, before finally hitting the hay.  
  
In the middle of the night, a ninja crept through the camp, taking everyone's Materia. She smiled, and ran off into the distance.  
  
The next morning, everyone woke up refreshed and feeling great. They were all about to leave when Ash noticed something.  
  
"Hey, where's Yuffie?" Ash asked, and then noticed something else. "And where is our Materia?!"  
  
Chapter 23: Yuffie, Materia Thief  
  
The group minus Yuffie was traveling to the city of Wutai, where they were positive that Yuffie went. Ash could not believe that she would steal their Materia. After the months that he had known her, he could understand eating all the food again, or scaring the shit outa someone when she tossed around her shuriken, but he could see no point in taking the Materia.  
  
About 3 hours of walking later, they finally reached the village. Ash couldn't tell if the homes were supposed to resemble ancient Japan or China, but he didn't think to much about it because he saw someone.  
  
"Look guys! It's Yuffie!" Ash shouted, pointing into the crowed of people.  
  
Sure enough, if you looked hard enough, you could see Yuffie, but then she quickly disappeared again. They ran to the place that they had seen her, but she was totally out of sight.  
  
"Damn! We lost her." Barret cursed.  
  
"Don't cha worry. We'll all find her some where around here." Cait Sith said.  
  
They searched around town, seeing the occasional glimpse of Yuffie. They talked to some of the townsfolk, and they suggested that they go and see Godo, who was the leader of Wutai.  
  
Following the townsfolk's suggestion, they went to Godo's house. It was a wonderfully furnished house with old pottery and ancient paintings everywhere. They found Godo himself sleeping on a couch, and Ash went up to him, poking him to wake him up.  
  
"Rise and shine Mr. Godo." Ash said, but he didn't wake up. "He must have never had his morning coffee."  
  
Ash poked Godo again, and finally he stirred and woke up.  
  
"Is there a reason you are poking at me to wake up in my own house?" He asked.  
  
"Sorry, but we were looking for this girl named Yuffie. Have you seen her?" Ash asked.  
  
"What kind of trouble is my daughter getting into now?" Godo said.  
  
"Daughter?"  
  
Suddenly Yuffie jumped into the room. She looked at her father and started yelling on about turning Wutai into a tourist attraction, then ran off again. Everyone followed after her, and soon they were out in the streets again.  
  
They search for a while, then noticed an oddly agar door. They went inside, and saw Yuffie hiding behind a screen door. Ash pulled it back, and Yuffie went running again.  
  
They ended up outside again, and Cloud saw a large pot that was moving kind of funny. Cloud broke it, and out popped Yuffie.  
  
"Your surrounded Yuffie. Give back our Materia." Cloud said, pointing his sword at her.  
  
"Alright! Alright! Geeze! Follow me, I'll take you to them." Yuffie said, motioning them to follow her.  
  
They followed her to a basement in a hidden room that they had not seen before. Yuffie motioned to a handle.  
  
"Pull the left one and it will open the door to the room that I stored the Materia. Happy?"  
  
Being incredibly stupid and idiotically dense, Cloud went and pulled the lever. A net was pulled up from under everyone but Cloud, and they were dangling from the ceiling.  
  
"The Materia is mine! Tough!" Yuffie said and ran out of the room.  
  
Cloud cursed violently and cut the rope, making everyone be in one big dog pile in the middle of the floor.  
  
"Cloud you moron! Even I saw that one coming!" Ash shouted, smacking Cloud in the head for once.  
  
"Oh shut up you two and hide! Someone is coming!" Misty said.  
  
They hid behind some armor that was stored in the room, and the last person they expected to see walked into the room with Shinra troops and a tied up Yuffie and Elena. Ash, in his stupid courage mode, jumped out from his hiding spot along with Shadow.  
  
"Don Corneo! Let them go!" Ash shouted. (Look! I remembered his last name!)  
  
"What the hell? You?! Troops attack!" Don shouted, then fled with Yuffie, Elena, and some other troops.  
  
Ash and Shadow quickly dispatched of the troops, and everyone ran out of the building after Don, but bumped into someone else.  
  
"Reno? Rude? What the hell are you guys doing here!" Ash shouted as he saw wo he bumped into.  
  
"We are here to rescue one of our fellow Turks, who was kidnapped by probably the next worse person to Sephiroth for a girl." Rude said. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Yuffie stole our Materia, but now she's been kidnapped by Don. Do you know where he's going?" Ash said.  
  
Reno pointed his nightstick at some mountains with people carved into them.  
  
"Up there."  
  
"Alright, thanks." Ash said, and they began to head in that direction, only to be stopped.  
  
"We are going too. Like I said, a fellow Turk has been kidnapped." Rude said.  
  
Everyone looked at the two Turks funny, but agreed never the less. They ran to the mountain and began to run up the well-worn trails. After back tracking because of a few dead ends, they reached their destination. Don was walking back and forth, looking at the two girls who were pinned to one of the Da-chao's faces.  
  
"Leave them alone!" Ash shouted.  
  
"Again? You never quite to you? Rapps! Kill them!"  
  
A giant flying sea dragon-like creature flew in front of them. It beat it's wings harshly at them, sending and Aero 3 at them. Rocks and other debris flew at them, cutting into their skin. Brock began to glow the now familiar red, and shouted "Mountain's Cry!" He dug his Kaiser knuckles into the ground and it opened up beneath Rapps, then moved up and swallowed Rapps in it's depths.  
  
"Remind me never to get you mad." Ash told his friend.  
  
Brock nervously laughed and scratched the back of his neck. Then Reno of the Turks went up to Don. He looked down disgusted at Don and then kicked him down the ledge of the Da-chao Mountains, never to be heard from again.  
  
Ash cut the bonds that held Yuffie and Elena. While Elena ran over to Reno and Rude, Yuffie just stood were she was. She took out a leather bag filled with what looked like marbles, and threw it at Cloud's feet.  
  
"I'm sorry everyone that I took your Materia, can you forgive me?" Yuffie said, probably more sincere than she ever had been in her entire life.  
  
The group huddled together for a moment, and then when they parted, Ash smiled and said.  
  
"We forgive you Yuffie, but don't do that again, ok? We like our Materia right where it is, with us."  
  
"What? Do you mean I can still come with you? After doing that?" Yuffie asked, but could not hide the hope in her voice.  
  
"Yeah! Of course you can! Anyway, you are the only one who will touch the food when it's Cloud and Ash's turn to cook, and what would we do with the leftovers?" Tifa joked to the ninja.  
  
"Really?!" Yuffie shouted excitedly.  
  
"Yep" Cait Sith said.  
  
Yuffie squealed with joy and pulled everyone into a bear hug.  
  
"This is getting to weird for me. Let's go." Reno said. And they began to leave.  
  
"And remember, the next time we meet, it will probably be on opposite sides." Rude said.  
  
"Bye!" Elena said, waving good-bye as the disappeared down the mountain.  
  
"So, were do we go now?" Ash asked.  
  
/To the temple of the Ancients, but you need to get the key to enter. It belongs to a man named Dio who owns the gold saucer. /  
  
"Alright than, to the Gold Saucer it is"  
  
Chapter 24: The Search for a Key  
  
"Well, here we are again." Said Barret as they entered the Gold Saucer.  
  
"Yes. But let's not have a repeat of the last time." Said Red.  
  
"Come on you worry warts! I want to go on some rides!" The ever-energetic Yuffie shouted and ran into the theme park.  
  
The others sighed and followed her in. Since Dio normally hung out in the battle arena, they decided that that would be the place that they would check first. They went down the slide in the main room to the battle arena, and before you could say 'Chocobo' they were there.  
  
They climbed up the long set of stairs, finally reaching the top and opened the neon light framed door, entering the building.  
  
Everyone split up to look for Dio. Ash, having his first brain storm in a good while, asked the secretary where he may be. She pointed to a room in the back, and he thanked her, then went to she if he was in that room.  
  
The inside of the room was filled with many odd objects. Funny little spheres, paintings, old weapons, even the toothbrush used by a famous musician. (EEEEWWWWW!!!) But the thing that caught Ash's attention was in the center of the room. It looked like a stone slab with odd circular holes in it. Ash touched it, and the holes in the stone began to glow blue.  
  
"Weird." Ash mumbled to himself, not realizing someone had heard him.  
  
"Yes, I bought that from a weapon shop owner a bit east of Gongaga. Actually, he seemed to want to get rid of it pretty badly . . ."  
  
Ash turned around and faced the person who spoke.  
  
"Dio?"  
  
"That's my name, don't wear it out."  
  
Ash sweatdropped.  
  
"Um. Is it ok if me and my friends borrow this stone for a while? We need it for something." Ash asked.  
  
"Oh no! I never lend anything to anybody!" Dio exclaimed, watching Ash as his face shone with disappointment. "But . . ."  
  
"But what?"  
  
"If you battle in the arena, I'll give it to you and your friends."  
  
"You will?!"  
  
"Sure!"  
  
Ash stood near the edge of a red, circular ring, his katana drawn and ready for whatever could possibly come through the doors on the other side. He breathed deeply, hoping that the things he had to face weren't to bad.  
  
He didn't really mind fighting monsters, but those had always been for a reason, and they usually attacked him first. These monsters were just placed into the arena to be fought.  
  
Ash sighed. 'Better get this over quick'.  
  
The doors suddenly opened, revealing a number of different kinds of monsters. They didn't all come out a once. Instead, they grouped themselves together and attacked him in pairs.  
  
The first few groups were easy, but as they continued to come, the battles got harder and harder. By the time the final group challenged Ash, he was already pretty exhausted. It was a Stilva, a creature that looked a lot like the Materia Keeper, only it was red.  
  
It smashed it's clawed, crab-like legs into the ground where Ash was moments before, for he had rolled away at the last second. Standing up on his legs again, Ash began to glow red and shouted "Phoenix Blade!" Fiery wings formed on his back and his blade erupted into flame. He hovered over the monster a bit, and then darted down in a streak of fire, combusting Stilva and reducing it to ashes.  
  
When he was done, the door on his side of the arena opened, allowing him to leave. As promised, he got the stone, but also received a protect vest and a chocobo feather, just because he had done so well.  
  
When Ash found everyone again, they headed back to the entrance, only to be stopped by that weird guy in a chocobo outfit.  
  
"Sorry, the Tram is out of order currently. You'll have to stay the night."  
  
Everyone groaned, but Cait Sith didn't seem to mind.  
  
"I know! Let's stay at the hotel! They know mw there. I'll go talk to them." And he bounded of towards the Ghost Hotel.  
  
"We don't have much of a choice, do we? With the Tram out and all." Brock said.  
  
"Well, now that we are stuck here, we could go on some rides." Aeris commented.  
  
"Yeah. Aren't all rides free tonight?" Tifa said.  
  
"Now if ONLY I could get someone to TAKE me." Misty added.  
  
Ash, Cloud, and Brock sweatdropped, then asked the girls if they wanted to go.  
  
"I thought you'd never ask." Tifa said, glomping Cloud.  
  
"Er, yeah. Come on. Let's go to hotel first. Cait Sith probably thinks we died or something." Cloud chocked out from lack of air.  
  
"Well then stop with the mushy stuff and let's go!" Yelled Yuffie, running into the park, the others following behind.  
  
Around the middle of the night, Ash was pacing in his room at the hotel, about to have a nervous breakdown. For as long as he had known Misty, this was their first official date. Sure, Brock, Cloud, Aeris, and Tifa would be more or less there, but in his mind that didn't help any.  
  
Suddenly there was a knock on his door, nearly making him jump out of his skin. 'Find a happy place, find a happy place. . .' (Damn you Nemo) He opened the door, and there stood Misty. She was wearing more dressy clothes, a blue skirt and shirt with silver embroidery, her hair was in a pony tail, and she had a little bit of make-up on. She blushed, noticing Ash's stare.  
  
"Ummm. . . do I look ok?"  
  
'What to say, what to say! You look pretty? No! She's not 6. Lovely? No, you say that to old people. Ummm. . .'  
  
"Ash?"  
  
Ash blushed, not realizing he had zoned out.  
  
"You look beautiful Mist."  
  
Misty blushed redder and nervously laughed. "Thank you."  
  
"Well your highness, shall we be off?" Ash said jokingly, holding out his arm.  
  
"We will, good sir!" Misty replied just as jokingly, as she grabbed his arm and the two exited the room and met up with the others.  
  
"This will be a night to remember."  
  
Chapter 25: 007: Cait Sith, Mission: Keystone  
  
Ash and Misty  
  
The sound of up-beat music played in the background mixed in with the laughter of sugur-highed children and couples talking to each other about nothing at all. In the mix of it all, surrounded by lights and buzzing noises, one couple stood. While the spiky, black-haired boy with the expo hat on was enjoying himself; the carrot haired girl was getting rather annoyed.  
  
"Isn't there something else you want to do than sit in the arcade?!" Misty said to her boyfriend, her arms crossed over her chest, fingers drumming on her arm.  
  
Ash looked over his shoulder at the carrot topped girl, still pressing the buttons for the game he was playing even though he wasn't paying attention to what he was doing.  
  
"Nnnnnnnno. Not really." He answered, a hint of nervousness in his voice. He had no doubt in his mind that somewhere, someplace, Misty still had her mallet, and he knew she wasn't afraid to use it.  
  
Misty's eyebrow ticked a bit, and she grabbed Ash by his arm, then proceeded to drag him out of the arcade. The people currently occupying the arcade stared at the retreating couple, some doing the crazy sign around their heads.  
  
"Poor guy, almost feel sorry for him." A random person in a Pink Floyd shirt said.  
  
"Yeah, got stuck with one of the crazies, didn't he?" Another responded.  
  
The two guys nodded, and went back to their motorcycle game, paying no attention to the panicked scream in the distance.  
  
Cloud and Tifa  
  
"Oh come on Cloud. It won't be that bad. Don't tell me that you're scared of heights!" Said the brown-haired bar tender of the seventh heaven.  
  
Cloud continued to stare at the Gondola, his eyes narrowed. To anyone watching, it would have looked like the spiky blonde SOLDIER was trying to start it on fire with his eyes.  
  
Cloud tore his eyes away from the offending ride and looked over at Tifa.  
  
"Doesn't it bother you that we will be thousands of feet off the ground, only being held up by two god damn wires?"  
  
Tifa pretended to think for a moment before she said, "Ummmmmm.........No. Now come on before someone else comes along and we have to wait!"  
  
"Would that be such a bad thing?" Cloud answered, not moving.  
  
"Oh come on Cloud!" Tifa said, pushing him over to the Gondola, "What's the worst that could happen? It's not like it's gonna break down or anything."  
  
ooOOoo  
  
SQUEEK!  
  
RATTLE RATTLE.  
  
NEEERRRRR.  
  
"Oh. What's the worst that could happen Cloud? She says. It's not like it's gonna break down! She says. Now do you see why I didn't want to go on this damnedable ride?!" Cloud ranted, gripping his seat tightly as the Gondola rocked back and forth.  
  
"Okay, so maybe I was wrong, but how the hell was I supposed to know that it would break down? Don't look at me like that. We're only a few thousand feet off the ground anyway." Tifa replied, putting her hands on her hips and shaking her head as if it were no big deal.  
  
Cloud turned a shade paler and got a good look down through the window, realizing just how far up they were if the emergency wire on the Gondola snapped. Everything went double.  
  
"Ouuuuuuuu...............I think I'm gonna be sick." Cloud said a little pained, watching little black dots appear before his eyes, swaying slightly back a forth.  
  
Tifa, seeing this, did the first thing that came to the girl's mind. She panicked.  
  
"The window Cloud! Use the window!" She shouted, shoving Cloud's head out the window, where he effectively lost his lunch for the first time in seven years.  
  
Thousands of feet below the Gondola, a group of people were heading on their way to the speed square, when all of a sudden, one of their group members felt something splash on them.  
  
"Hey. Is it raining or something?" The person asked, looking up.  
  
The person's friends took one look at him, scrunching up their noses, only one thing left their mouths.  
  
"Eeeeeeeeewwwwwww..............."  
  
".........What?"  
  
Brock and Aeris  
  
"Wasn't that play great Brock? I haven't seen one in so many years." Aeries said happily as they made their way to the portal to the main room.  
  
"Yeah. That was pretty good. A little awkward, but good none the less." Brock replied to the pink clad girl.  
  
Aeries smiled, and kissed Brock on the cheek, then went through the portal that led to the main room.  
  
Brock meanwhile, had a face that was effectively rivaling a tomato.  
  
"Yes! Finally a girl who likes me! Man, this night just keeps on getting better and better!" Brock shouted to no-one, then speed walked over to the portal and entered.  
  
"Um Aeries, I......" Brock started, but was cut off when he heard Aeries talk.  
  
"Hey? What's Cait Sith doing?" She asked to Brock without looking at him.  
  
Brock gave her a questioning glance and looked in the direction that she was. Indeed, Cait Sith was just across the room, looking around nervously. It held up a very familiar object, and went through one of the portals.  
  
"I might be wrong, but was that the keystone that he had with him? Why does he have it?" Brock asked.  
  
"I don't know, but let's find out!" Aeries replied, jumping into the portal that Cait Sith entered.  
  
Brock nodded, and followed her into the portal.  
  
Ahead of them, they saw Cait Sith. The giant mog/cat doll caught notice of them, and made a run for it into another portal.  
  
"Hey! Stop!" Aeries shouted, the human and half Cetra following it.  
  
Cait Sith did a whirly twirly run around into many different portals, beginning to exhaust the two people made out of flesh and blood. Finally, in the Chocobo Square, they saw him stop. They made a break for it, but stopped in their steps as they saw a helicopter descend down. Cait Sith threw the keystone up into the helicopter, and it flew away.  
  
Sometime during this whole ordeal, the rest of the group managed to get to the Chocobo Square. Apparently, they had also seen Cait Sith make a break for it when he was running around the different squares. Now the only people that were missing were Cloud and Tifa. (A/N: Their still stuck in the Gondola)  
  
"What the HELL do you think that you're doing Cat?!" Barret shouted, his face darker than normal.  
  
"I.........ummm........." Cait Sith stumbled.  
  
"Well spill it. Were you a spy?!" Misty yelled, making the Mog/Cat back up.  
  
Cait Sith shifted a little, then said "Yes, I was a spy. I was hired by the Shinra."  
  
"Oh GRAET! Just PEACHY." Ash said, mostly to himself.  
  
"So, ah, lets just continue on like before shall we? No hard feelings right?" said Cait Sith, giving everyone the peace sign.  
  
GLARE.  
  
"He's a spy right? So now that we caught him does that mean I get to shoot him?" Barret said grumpily, aiming his gun arm as the mog/cat.  
  
"Eeep!"  
  
"Yeah, you better be eeping 'cus I'm going to blow your ass from here to Midgar."  
  
Cait Sith sighed.  
  
"I was hoping that it wouldn't come to this but........." Cait Sith said, pulling out a walkie-talkie. It crackled and fizzled for a moment, before.........  
  
#Daddy? Where are you? Daddy? Daddy?! What's going on?!#  
  
GLARE.  
  
"You asshole........." Barret said, gritting his teeth.  
  
"I' m sorry I have to do this, but this is how it is.........no compromises. So why don't we continue as we did? And anyway, I'm the only one who knows the way to the temple of ancients. You need me."  
  
"FINE!" Ash said between his teeth. "But you damned well better not do that again, or I'll slice you in half!"  
  
Cait Sith smiled.  
  
"Alright then! Let's get our stuff and go!"  
  
All with extremely bad moods, they followed the Mog/Cat to the Ghost Hotel.  
  
Meanwhile  
  
SQEEEEEEEEK  
  
"God damn it! Somebody get us down from here!!!!!!!"  
  
Chapter 26: On the Way to the Temple of Ancients  
  
The Tiny Bronco made it's humming noise as the propellers helped push it out to the ocean. The group, consisting of seven humans, one Cetra/Jenova, one half Cetra, one vampire guy, one mechanical Mog, a cat like creature, and a black phoenix-like creature lazily sat about on the plane.  
  
The mood was tense. No-one wanting to break the silence that had encased the group since they had left the Gold Saucer. Beside Ash, Shadow trilled a note, and perched itself on his shoulder.  
  
/ We're getting closer./ The dark phoenix said, looking out to the sea.  
  
Ash nodded, and looked out at the direction that the bird was. He could just make out a patch of land that they were slowly edging closer to.  
  
GRRRROOOOOWWWWWLLLLL.........  
  
"Oh, guess I'm a little hungry. Anyone got any munchies?" The teenaged ninja of the group asked, patting her tummy.  
  
Aeries laughed and handed the starving Materia thief a roast beef and turkey sandwich, who ate it in almost one bite.  
  
"YAY! Thank you Aeries! You are now my best friend!" Exclaimed Yuffie, giving the half Cetra a hug.  
  
"Surprised she didn't choke on it." Said Misty to Tifa, who nodded.  
  
Tifa stole a glance at Cloud, who was still a bit frazzled from the Gondola incident. It took the people three hours to get it up and running again, and even before the ride had stopped, Cloud had jumped out the window wanting to get off immediately.  
  
Tifa chuckled to herself a bit at the thought. Cloud had really surprised the workers when he had jumped out the window fifteen feet in the air and onto the platform below, then got as far away from the Gondola as possible. It was by far not the most romantic date she had ever been on, but it was definitely the funniest.  
  
"So." Red started, getting everyone's attention. "Without the keystone, how do we get into the Temple of Ancients to begin with?"  
  
"Good question. If those Shinra bastards have it, how the hell are we supposed to get in? Stupid cat. This is your fault." Cid yelled, taking a menacing step towards Cait Sith, rocking the Tiny Bronco and almost making Cloud fall into the water.  
  
"Hey! Watch it!" Cloud yelped.  
  
"Well, that's easy, we just follow the Shinra in." The Mog/Cat replied matter-of-factly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.  
  
"Follow.........them?" Misty questioned.  
  
"Hmmmm............Well, I suppose it's the only thing we can do right now." Said Cloud, looking at the batch of land that drew ever closer.  
  
ooOOoo  
  
"Well, here we are." Ash said, getting a look at his surroundings.  
  
The trees were covered in moss-carpeted vines, and dangled down like nooses just waiting for someone to put their head through them. Ahead of them, an old temple stood across a rickety bridge. The temple itself was in steppe form, a long, narrow pair of stairs leading to a door near the top.  
  
"Oh great. Another bridge." Misty said, mostly to herself, eyeing the bridge warily.  
  
"Well, as long as this one doesn't collapses on us again I don't care." Tifa said, walking past the group and heading across the bridge, Cloud following behind her incase it really DID fall down.  
  
"So, what'er we standing around here for? Let's go!" Cait Sith shouted, following behind them.  
  
"Oh, major creepy vibes......" Yuffie moaned, crossing the bridge followed by Misty, Vincent, Red, Brock, Barret, and Cid. Ash was about to cross to, but Aeries tapped him on the shoulder.  
  
"Hmmm?"  
  
Aeries looked up at the temple and sighed.  
  
"Do you feel that Ash? There's something there. I keep hearing distant voices, but there're so jumbled up I can't make them out." She said, her face creased with worry.  
  
Ash paused for a moment. Now that she mentioned it, he was kinda hearing things, but he had passed it up as his ears ringing or something. But she was right. They were voices. Distant and jumbled up, but voices non- the less.  
  
"Hey you two! Come look at this!" Cloud shouted to the two fall behinds.  
  
Ash and Aeries quickly went across the bridge to where the rest of the group was at. They were in a circle around a black-cloaked figure bunched up on the ground.  
  
"Must.........go.........reunion.........black.........Materia......" It moaned, and then vanished.  
  
Everyone stared at the spot the figure had just been moments before, rather shocked and confused.  
  
"That was kinda weird." Yuffie said, as immature as ever.  
  
"I wonder what this black Materia he spoke of is? And what does it do?" Red mused to himself.  
  
"Only one way to find out." Cloud said, walking up to the temple door. "Come on, and let's see what's inside.  
  
Note: Fear my condensed version. Are your eyes tiered yet? I know mine are!  
  
You people better REVIEW me! Or feel my wrath. 


End file.
